What best practices should be followed to prevent session loss when accessing PDF files through PHP scripts?

To prevent session loss when accessing PDF files through PHP scripts, it is important to ensure that the session is properly started and maintained throughout the script execution. This can be achieved by starting the session at the beginning of the script and making sure to use session_start() before any output is sent to the browser. Additionally, using session_regenerate_id() to generate a new session ID can help prevent session fixation attacks.

<?php
session_start();

// Check if session ID needs to be regenerated
if (!isset($_SESSION['last_activity']) || (time() - $_SESSION['last_activity']) > 1800) {
    session_regenerate_id(true);
    $_SESSION['last_activity'] = time();
}

// Access PDF file here
?>