DragonFly On-Line Manual Pages
curl_easy_pause(3) libcurl curl_easy_pause(3)
NAME
curl_easy_pause - pause and unpause a connection
SYNOPSIS
#include <curl/curl.h>
CURLcode curl_easy_pause(CURL *handle, int bitmask);
DESCRIPTION
Using this function, you can explicitly mark a running connection to
get paused, and you can unpause a connection that was previously
paused.
A connection can be paused by using this function or by letting the
read or the write callbacks return the proper magic return code
(CURL_READFUNC_PAUSE and CURL_WRITEFUNC_PAUSE). A write callback that
returns pause signals to the library that it could not take care of any
data at all, and that data will then be delivered again to the callback
when the transfer is unpaused.
While it may feel tempting, take care and notice that you cannot call
this function from another thread. To unpause, you may for example call
it from the progress callback (CURLOPT_PROGRESSFUNCTION(3)).
When this function is called to unpause receiving, the write callback
might get called before this function returns to deliver cached
content. When libcurl delivers such cached data to the write callback,
it will be delivered as fast as possible, which may overstep the
boundary set in CURLOPT_MAX_RECV_SPEED_LARGE(3) etc.
The handle argument identifies the transfer you want to pause or
unpause.
A paused transfer is excluded from low speed cancels via the
CURLOPT_LOW_SPEED_LIMIT(3) option and unpausing a transfer will reset
the time period required for the low speed limit to be met.
The bitmask argument is a set of bits that sets the new state of the
connection. The following bits can be used:
CURLPAUSE_RECV
Pause receiving data. There will be no data received on this
connection until this function is called again without this bit
set. Thus, the write callback (CURLOPT_WRITEFUNCTION(3)) will
not be called.
CURLPAUSE_SEND
Pause sending data. There will be no data sent on this
connection until this function is called again without this bit
set. Thus, the read callback (CURLOPT_READFUNCTION(3)) will not
be called.
CURLPAUSE_ALL
Convenience define that pauses both directions.
CURLPAUSE_CONT
Convenience define that unpauses both directions.
LIMITATIONS
The pausing of transfers does not work with protocols that work without
network connectivity, like FILE://. Trying to pause such a transfer, in
any direction, will cause problems in the worst case or an error in the
best case.
MULTIPLEXED
When a connection is used multiplexed, like for HTTP/2, and one of the
transfers over the connection is paused and the others continue
flowing, libcurl might end up buffering contents for the paused
transfer. It has to do this because it needs to drain the socket for
the other transfers and the already announced window size for the
paused transfer will allow the server to continue sending data up to
that window size amount. By default, libcurl announces a 32 megabyte
window size, which thus can make libcurl end up buffering 32 megabyte
of data for a paused stream.
When such a paused stream is unpaused again, any buffered data will be
delivered first.
EXAMPLE
/* pause a transfer in both directions */
curl_easy_pause(curl, CURL_READFUNC_PAUSE | CURL_WRITEFUNC_PAUSE);
MEMORY USE
When pausing a read by returning the magic return code from a write
callback, the read data is already in libcurl's internal buffers so it
will have to keep it in an allocated buffer until the receiving is
again unpaused using this function.
If the downloaded data is compressed and is asked to get uncompressed
automatically on download, libcurl will continue to uncompress the
entire downloaded chunk and it will cache the data uncompressed. This
has the side- effect that if you download something that is compressed
a lot, it can result in a large data amount needing to be allocated to
save the data during the pause. This said, you should probably consider
not using paused receiving if you allow libcurl to uncompress data
automatically.
AVAILABILITY
Added in 7.18.0.
RETURN VALUE
CURLE_OK (zero) means that the option was set properly, and a non-zero
return code means something wrong occurred after the new state was set.
See the libcurl-errors(3) man page for the full list with descriptions.
SEE ALSO
curl_easy_cleanup(3), curl_easy_reset(3)
libcurl 8.1.2 April 26, 2023 curl_easy_pause(3)