Are there potential issues with using exit() after readfile() in PHP scripts, especially in the context of downloading files?

Using exit() after readfile() in PHP scripts can potentially cause issues, especially when downloading files. This is because exit() terminates the script immediately, which may prevent any necessary cleanup or further processing after the file has been downloaded. To solve this issue, you can use ob_clean() and ob_flush() functions to clear the output buffer and flush the output before using exit(). 

$file = 'path/to/file.pdf';

if (file_exists($file)) {
    header('Content-Description: File Transfer');
    header('Content-Type: application/octet-stream');
    header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=' . basename($file));
    header('Content-Length: ' . filesize($file));
    
    readfile($file);
    
    ob_clean();
    ob_flush();
    exit();
} else {
    echo 'File not found.';
}

Keywords

exit readfile PHP scripts downloading files potential issues

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