How can the use of relative paths versus absolute URLs impact the successful download of files in PHP scripts?

When using relative paths in PHP scripts, the successful download of files may be impacted if the script is not located in the same directory as the file being accessed. This can lead to errors or the file not being found. To ensure successful downloads, it is recommended to use absolute URLs when referencing files in PHP scripts.

// Example of using absolute URL to ensure successful download of files
$file_url = "http://www.example.com/files/file.txt";
$file_content = file_get_contents($file_url);

// Process the file content here