Thread: http requests

I'm building a proxy.. but I have a small doubt.
I connect to the remote server, and send the request. Then I start reading from the socket... When do I know that the server sent all the info I asked?? Should I used the Content-length header? or should I wait for the server to close the connection?
The same when I reading a request of a client.

plus, what is the Proxy-Connection suposed to mean ?

Originally Posted by xErath

When do I know that the server sent all the info I asked?

You could use the Content-Length header, but this isn't always sent. The server usually sents information this way:

[HEADERS]

[hex number: the number of bytes the next chunk of data is]
[data]
[hex number: the number of bytes the next chunk of data is]
[data]

When the hex number = 0, it means there is no more data to be read...

for example:

HTTP/1.1 200 Ok
Content-Type: text/html

10
abcdefghijklmnop
5
xxxxx
0

Originally Posted by xErath

plus, what is the Proxy-Connection suposed to mean ?

Whether or not the proxy should terminate the connection when all data is sent to the client. ("Proxy-Connection: closed" or "Proxy-Connection: Keep-Alive")

Most of the above post is incorrect, I suggest both posters read Section 4.4 of the HTTP 1.1 RFC.

I was wondering about this myself, I got a program to work sending a get request but I cant see how to deal with the response without knowing how long it is because the buffer might be long enough.