'\" t
.\"     Title: ne_session_create
.\"    Author: 
.\" Generator: DocBook XSL Stylesheets vsnapshot <http://docbook.sf.net/>
.\"      Date: 03/20/2026
.\"    Manual: neon API reference
.\"    Source: neon
.\"  Language: English
.\"
.TH "NE_SESSION_CREATE" "3" "03/20/2026" "neon" "neon API reference"
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.SH "NAME"
ne_session_create, ne_close_connection, ne_session_destroy \- set up HTTP sessions
.SH "SYNOPSIS"
.sp
.ft B
.nf
#include <ne_session\&.h>
.fi
.ft
.HP \w'ne_session\ *ne_session_create('u
.BI "ne_session *ne_session_create(const\ char\ *" "scheme" ", const\ char\ *" "host" ", unsigned\ int\ " "port" ");"
.HP \w'void\ ne_close_connection('u
.BI "void ne_close_connection(ne_session\ *" "session" ");"
.HP \w'void\ ne_session_destroy('u
.BI "void ne_session_destroy(ne_session\ *" "session" ");"
.SH "DESCRIPTION"
.PP
An
\fBne_session\fR
object represents an HTTP session \- a logical grouping of a sequence of HTTP requests made to a certain server\&. Any requests made using the session can use a persistent connection, share cached authentication credentials and any other common attributes\&.
.PP
A new HTTP session is created using the
\fBne_session_create\fR
function; the
\fIhost\fR
and
\fIport\fR
parameters specify the origin server to use, along with the
\fIscheme\fR
(usually
"http")\&. Before the first use of
\fBne_session_create\fR
in a process,
\fBne_sock_init\fR(3)
must have been called to perform any global initialization needed by any libraries used by neon\&.
.PP
To enable SSL/TLS for the session, pass the string
"https"
as the
\fIscheme\fR, and either register a certificate verification function (see
\fBne_ssl_set_verify\fR(3)) or trust the appropriate certificate (see
\fBne_ssl_trust_cert\fR(3),
\fBne_ssl_trust_default_ca\fR(3))\&.
.PP
The
\fIhost\fR
parameter must follow the "host" grammar in
\m[blue]\fBSection 3\&.2\&.2 of RFC 3986\fR\m[]\&\s-2\u[1]\d\s+2, which can be an IP\-literal or registered (DNS) hostname\&. Valid examples of each:
"198\&.51\&.100\&.42"
(IPv4 literal address),
"[2001:db8::42]"
(IPv6 literal, which
\fIMUST\fR
be enclosed in square brackets), or
"www\&.example\&.com"
(DNS hostname)\&. The
\m[blue]\fBRFC 6874\fR\m[]\&\s-2\u[2]\d\s+2
syntax for scoped IPv6 link\-local literal addresses is also permitted, for example
"[fe80::1%25eth0]"\&.
.PP
The
\fIscheme\fR
parameter is used to determine the URI for resources identified during request handling\&. Other than special handling of the string
"https", no other interpretation or checking of the
\fIscheme\fR
is performed\&. For example, if an HTTP\-to\-FTP proxy is configured, a scheme of
"ftp"
could be used to access resources\&.
.PP
To use a proxy server for the session, it must be configured (see
\fBne_session_proxy\fR(3)) before any requests are created from session object\&.
.PP
Further per\-session options may be changed using the
\fBne_set_session_flag\fR(3)
interface\&.
.PP
If it is known that the session will not be used for a significant period of time,
\fBne_close_connection\fR
can be called to close the connection, if one remains open\&. Use of this function is entirely optional, but it must not be called if there is a request active using the session\&.
.PP
Once a session has been completed,
\fBne_session_destroy\fR
must be called to destroy the resources associated with the session\&. Any subsequent use of the session pointer produces undefined behaviour\&. The session object must not be destroyed until after all associated request objects have been destroyed\&.
.SH "NOTES"
.PP
If a hostname is passed to
\fBne_session_create\fR, it will be resolved when the first request using the session is dispatched; a DNS resolution failure can only be detected at that time (using the
NE_LOOKUP
error code); see
\fBne_request_dispatch\fR(3)
for details\&.
.SH "RETURN VALUES"
.PP
\fBne_session_create\fR
will return a pointer to a new session object (and never
NULL)\&.
.SH "EXAMPLES"
.PP
Create and destroy a session:
.sp
.if n \{\
.RS 4
.\}
.nf
ne_session *sess;
sess = ne_session_create("http", "host\&.example\&.com", 80);
/* \&.\&.\&. use sess \&.\&.\&. */
ne_session_destroy(sess);
.fi
.if n \{\
.RE
.\}
.SH "HISTORY"
.PP
The
\fIscheme\fR
passed to
\fBne_session_create\fR
is lower\-cased internally from neon 0\&.37\&.0 onward, so passing
"HtTpS"
and
"https"
are equivalent\&. In earlier releases, the scheme is case\-sensitive\&.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.PP
\fBne_ssl_set_verify\fR(3),
\fBne_ssl_trust_cert\fR(3),
\fBne_sock_init\fR(3),
\fBne_set_session_flag\fR(3),
\fBne_session_proxy\fR(3)
.SH "COPYRIGHT"
.br
Copyright \(co 2001-2026 Joe Orton
.br
.SH "REFERENCES"
.IP " 1." 4
Section 3.2.2 of RFC 3986
.RS 4
\%https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc3986#section-3.2.2
.RE
.IP " 2." 4
RFC 6874
.RS 4
\%https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6874
.RE