In what situations would using readfile() in PHP be recommended for outputting images?

Using readfile() in PHP to output images is recommended when you want to efficiently serve images stored on the server without loading the entire file into memory. This can help prevent memory exhaustion when dealing with large image files. Additionally, readfile() can handle HTTP headers properly, ensuring the image is displayed correctly in the browser. 

<?php
$imagePath = 'path/to/image.jpg';

if (file_exists($imagePath)) {
    header('Content-Type: image/jpeg');
    readfile($imagePath);
} else {
    echo 'Image not found';
}

Keywords

readfile PHP outputting images situations recommended

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