What are some potential solutions for handling large file downloads in PHP when the server memory limit is exceeded?

When handling large file downloads in PHP, if the server memory limit is exceeded, one potential solution is to stream the file to the client instead of loading the whole file into memory. This can be achieved by using functions like `readfile()` or `fpassthru()` to read and output the file in chunks, thus reducing memory usage. 

// Set appropriate headers for file download
header('Content-Type: application/octet-stream');
header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="large_file.zip"');

// Open the file for reading
$handle = fopen('path/to/large_file.zip', 'rb');

// Output the file in chunks
while (!feof($handle)) {
    echo fread($handle, 8192);
}

// Close the file handle
fclose($handle);

Keywords

memory limit large file downloads PHP streaming file handling

Related Questions