curl_easy_recv: Improve documentation and example program

Follow-up to 82245ea: Fix the example program sendrecv.c (handle
CURLE_AGAIN, handle incomplete send). Improve the documentation
for curl_easy_recv() and curl_easy_send().

Reviewed-by: Frank Meier
Assisted-by: Jay Satiro

See https://github.com/curl/curl/pull/1134

1 files changed, 19 insertions, 10 deletions

diff --git a/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_recv.3 b/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_recv.3
index 3560cc511..7a812dd00 100644
--- a/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_recv.3
+++ b/docs/libcurl/curl_easy_recv.3
@@ -46,12 +46,21 @@ calling \fIcurl_easy_perform(3)\fP or \fIcurl_multi_perform(3)\fP. Note that
 \fIcurl_easy_recv(3)\fP does not work on connections that were created without
 this option.
 
-You must ensure that the socket has data to read before calling
-\fIcurl_easy_recv(3)\fP, otherwise the call will return \fBCURLE_AGAIN\fP -
-the socket is used in non-blocking mode internally. Use
-\fIcurl_easy_getinfo(3)\fP with \fICURLINFO_ACTIVESOCKET(3)\fP to obtain the
-socket; use your operating system facilities like \fIselect(2)\fP to check if
-it has any data you can read.
+The call will return \fBCURLE_AGAIN\fP if there is no data to read - the
+socket is used in non-blocking mode internally. When \fBCURLE_AGAIN\fP is
+returned, use your operating system facilities like \fIselect(2)\fP to wait
+for data. The socket may be obtained using \fIcurl_easy_getinfo(3)\fP with
+\fICURLINFO_ACTIVESOCKET(3)\fP.
+
+Wait on the socket only if \fIcurl_easy_recv(3)\fP returns \fBCURLE_AGAIN\fP.
+The reason for this is libcurl or the SSL library may internally cache some
+data, therefore you should call \fIcurl_easy_recv(3)\fP until all data is
+read which would include any cached data.
+
+Furthermore if you wait on the socket and it tells you there is data to read,
+\fIcurl_easy_recv(3)\fP may return \fBCURLE_AGAIN\fP if the only data that was
+read was for internal SSL processing, and no other data is available.
+
 .SH AVAILABILITY
 Added in 7.18.2.
 .SH RETURN VALUE
@@ -60,13 +69,13 @@ On success, returns \fBCURLE_OK\fP, stores the received data into
 
 On failure, returns the appropriate error code.
 
-If there is no data to read, the function returns \fBCURLE_AGAIN\fP. Use your
-operating system facilities to wait until the data is ready, and retry.
+The function may return \fBCURLE_AGAIN\fP. In this case, use your operating
+system facilities to wait until data can be read, and retry.
 
-Reading exactly 0 bytes would indicate a closed connection.
+Reading exactly 0 bytes indicates a closed connection.
 
 If there's no socket available to use from the previous transfer, this function
-returns CURLE_UNSUPPORTED_PROTOCOL.
+returns \fBCURLE_UNSUPPORTED_PROTOCOL\fP.
 .SH EXAMPLE
 See \fBsendrecv.c\fP in \fBdocs/examples\fP directory for usage example.
 .SH "SEE ALSO"