xref: /third_party/libcoap/man/coap_block.txt.in

// -*- mode:doc; -*-
// vim: set syntax=asciidoc tw=0

coap_block(3)
=============
:doctype: manpage
:man source:   coap_block
:man version:  @PACKAGE_VERSION@
:man manual:   libcoap Manual

NAME
----
coap_block,
coap_context_set_block_mode,
coap_add_data_large_request,
coap_add_data_large_response,
coap_get_data_large,
coap_block_build_body,
coap_q_block_is_supported
- Work with CoAP Blocks

SYNOPSIS
--------
*#include <coap@LIBCOAP_API_VERSION@/coap.h>*

*void coap_context_set_block_mode(coap_context_t *_context_,
uint8_t _block_mode_);*

*int coap_add_data_large_request(coap_session_t *_session_,
coap_pdu_t *_pdu_, size_t _length_, const uint8_t *_data_,
coap_release_large_data_t _release_func_, void *_app_ptr_);*

*int coap_add_data_large_response(coap_resource_t *_resource_,
coap_session_t *_session_, const coap_pdu_t *_request_, coap_pdu_t *_response_,
const coap_string_t *query, uint16_t _media_type_, int _maxage_,
uint64_t etag, size_t _length_, const uint8_t *_data_,
coap_release_large_data_t _release_func_, void *_app_ptr_);*

*int coap_get_data_large(const coap_pdu_t *_pdu_, size_t *_length,
const uint8_t **_data_, size_t *_offset_, size_t *_total_);*

*coap_binary_t *coap_block_build_body(coap_binary_t *_body_data_,
size_t _length_, const uint8_t *_data_, size_t _offset_, size_t _total_);*

*int coap_q_block_is_supported(void);*

For specific (D)TLS library support, link with
*-lcoap-@LIBCOAP_API_VERSION@-notls*, *-lcoap-@LIBCOAP_API_VERSION@-gnutls*,
*-lcoap-@LIBCOAP_API_VERSION@-openssl*, *-lcoap-@LIBCOAP_API_VERSION@-mbedtls*
or *-lcoap-@LIBCOAP_API_VERSION@-tinydtls*.   Otherwise, link with
*-lcoap-@LIBCOAP_API_VERSION@* to get the default (D)TLS library support.

DESCRIPTION
-----------
Regular setting up of a PDU and transmission is covered in *coap_pdu_setup*(3)
where all the payload data can fit in a single packet.  This man page covers
how to work with PDUs where the overall body of information may need to be
split across several packets by using CoAP Block-Wise Transfers
(https://rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7959[RFC7959] and
https://rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc9177[RFC9177]).

The block-wise transfers can be controlled by the application, or libcoap is
instructed to do all the requests for the next blocks and only present the
final body of the result to the application.  In summary, the following three
ways handle processing a body of data that has to be split across multiple
payloads (blocks).

1. Application does all the work +
It is the responsibility of the application to analyze each block transmission
at receipt and then generate the next request as per
https://rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7959[RFC7959].  In this case,
*coap_context_set_block_mode*() function must not be called to maintain
backward compatibility with applications that did the block handling within the
application.

2. Application sees individual blocks +
By calling *coap_context_set_block_mode(context, COAP_BLOCK_USE_LIBCOAP)* and
using the appropriate functions, the requests for the next block of data is
handled automatically by the libcoap layer.  Each individual block of data is
presented to the application for processing. +
By calling *coap_get_data_large*(), the application can determine if this is
the first block or not (using _offset_ value), whether the first block is all
the data (_offset_ = 0, _length_ = _total_) and whether this is the last block
(_offset_ + _length_ = _total_). It is the responsibility of the application to
re-assemble the individual blocks into a single body of data. +
*NOTE:* _total_ is only an approximation (it will be > _offset_ + _length_)
until the final block is received. +
If this is the request handler in a server, the server still needs to return a
COAP_RESPONSE_CODE_CONTINUE 2.31 (Continue) response code if the received data
is not for the final block, otherwise a COAP_RESPONSE_CODE_CREATED 2.01
(Created) or COAP_RESPONSE_CODE_CHANGED 2.04 (Changed) should be returned.

3. Application only sees all of the body +
By calling *coap_context_set_block_mode(context,
COAP_BLOCK_USE_LIBCOAP|COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY)* and using the appropriate
functions, the requests for all the blocks of data is handled automatically by
the libcoap layer.  Only the complete body of the data is presented to the
application, unless there is an error. +
*coap_get_data_large*() will only return the entire body of data (_offset_
always 0, _length_ = _total_) and there is no need to re-assemble individual
blocks into a large body of data. +
In RAM constrained environments, option 2 may be the preferred method.

This man page focuses on getting libcoap to do all the work, not how to do it
all in the application.

However, if the client supplies a Block1 or Block2 Option in the PDU where the
block number is not 0, this is assumed to be a random access request and any
other blocks will not be requested by libcoap even if instructed otherwise.

The functions that are named *_large* are intended as replacements for the
equivalent functions as described in *coap_pdu_setup*(3).

CALLBACK HANDLER
----------------

*Callback Type: coap_release_large_data_t*

[source, c]
----
/**
 * Callback handler for de-allocating the data based on @p app_ptr provided to
 * coap_add_data_large_*() functions following transmission of the supplied
 * data.
 *
 * @param session The session that this data is associated with
 * @param app_ptr The application provided pointer to the
 *                coap_add_data_large_*() functions
 */
typedef void (*coap_release_large_data_t)(coap_session_t *session,
                                          void *app_ptr);
----

FUNCTIONS
---------

*Function: coap_context_set_block_mode()*

The *coap_context_set_block_mode*() function is used to set up the _context_
level _block_mode_ block handling bits for supporting
https://rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7959[RFC7959] _block_mode_
flows down to a session when a session is created and if the peer does not
support the respective block mode, an appropriate bit may get disabled in the
session _block_mode_.

[source, c]
----
#define COAP_BLOCK_USE_LIBCOAP   0x01 /* Use libcoap to do block requests */
#define COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY   0x02 /* Deliver the data as a single body */
#define COAP_BLOCK_TRY_Q_BLOCK   0x04 /* Try Q-Block method */
#define COAP_BLOCK_USE_M_Q_BLOCK 0x08 /* Use M bit when recovering Q-Block2 */
#define COAP_BLOCK_NO_PREEMPTIVE_RTAG 0x10 /* Don't use pre-emptive Request-Tags */
----
_block_mode_ is an or'd set of zero or more COAP_BLOCK_* definitions.

If *COAP_BLOCK_USE_LIBCOAP* is not set, then everything works as per Option 1
above.

If *COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY* is set, then the entire body of data is presented to
the receiving handler, otherwise each individual block is presented on arrival.
To obtain the data, length and current offset, *coap_get_data_large*() must
be used instead of *coap_get_data*().  It may be appropriate not to set
*COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY* if there are RAM limitations.

*NOTE:* It is the responsibility of the receiving application to re-assemble
the _data_ as appropriate (e.g., using *coap_block_build_body*()) if
*COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY* is not set.

*NOTE:* If *COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY* is not set, then the CoAP server on
receiving
request data that is split over multiple data blocks must respond with
COAP_RESPONSE_CODE_CONTINUE 2.31 (Continue) response code if the received data
is not for the final block, otherwise a COAP_RESPONSE_CODE_CREATED 2.01
(Created) or COAP_RESPONSE_CODE_CHANGED 2.04 (Changed) should be returned.

To indicate support for Q-Block-1 and Q-Block2, *COAP_BLOCK_TRY_Q_BLOCK* needs
to be set on both the client and server.  *COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY* is assumed to
be set if using Q-Block as the data will always be presented as a single body.
If *COAP_BLOCK_USE_M_Q_BLOCK* is defined, then the 'M' bit version of recovery
will be used if possible.

If *COAP_BLOCK_USE_LIBCOAP* is set, then any PDUs presented to the application
handlers will get the tokens set back to the initiating token so that requests
can be matched with responses even if different tokens had to be used for the
series of packet interchanges.  Furthermore, if *COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY* is set,
then the PDU that presents the entire body will have any BlockX or Q-BlockX
option removed.

*NOTE:* *COAP_BLOCK_USE_LIBCOAP* must be set if libcoap is to do all the
block tracking and requesting, otherwise the application will have to do all
of this work (the default if *coap_context_set_block_mode*() is not called).

If *COAP_BLOCK_NO_PREEMPTIVE_RTAG* is set, then Request-Tag options are only
sent when a large amount of data is being sent to the server using the Block1
option.  Otherwise, a Request-Tag option is sent with any request (apart from
DELETE) on the off chance that there may be multiple Block2 based
responses for multiple requests to the same resource that need to be
differentiated between.

*Function: coap_add_data_large_request()*

The *coap_add_data_large_request*() function is similar to *coap_add_data*(),
but supports the transmission of data that has a body size that is potentially
larger than can be fitted into a single client request PDU. The specified
payload _data_ of length _length_ is associated with the _session_ with the
first block of data added to the PDU _pdu_ along with the appropriate CoAP
options such as (Q-)Block1, Size1 and Request-Tag if the data does not fit in
a single PDU.

When the block receipt has been acknowledged by the peer, the library
will then send the next block of data until all the data has been transmitted.

The _data_ passed to the
function *coap_add_data_large_request*() must exist until all blocks have been
transmitted. The callback function _release_func_ can be used to release
storage that has been dynamically allocated to hold the transmit data. If not
NULL, the callback function is called once the final block of _data_ has been
transmitted. The user-defined parameter _app_ptr_ is the same value that was
passed to *coap_add_data_large_request*().

*NOTE:* This function must only be called once per _pdu_.

*NOTE:* Options cannot be added to the _pdu_ after
coap_add_data_large_request() is called.

*Function: coap_add_data_large_response()*

The *coap_add_data_large_response*() function is responsible for handling
the server's large responses to requests. *coap_add_data_large_response*()
should be used as a direct replacement for *coap_add_data*() if it is possible
that the _length_ of _data_ will not fit in a single server's response pdu.
This function adds in the initial part of the payload _data_ of length
_length_ to the PDU _pdu_.

The _data_ passed to the function
*coap_add_data_large_response*() must exist until all blocks have been
transmitted. The callback function _release_func_ can be used to release
storage that has been dynamically allocated to hold the transmit data. If not
NULL, the callback function is called once the final block of _data_ has been
transmitted. The user-defined parameter _app_ptr_ is the same value that was
passed to *coap_add_data_large_response*().

It also adds in the appropriate CoAP options such as Block2, Size2 and ETag to
handle block-wise transfer if the data does not fit in a single PDU.

_resource_, _query_, _session_, _request_, and _response_ are the same
parameters as in the called resource handler that invokes
*coap_add_data_large_response*(). If _etag_ is 0, then a unique ETag value will
be generated, else is the ETag value to use.
The _media_type_ is for the format of the _data_ and _maxage_ defines the
lifetime of the response.  If _maxage_ is set to -1,  then the Max-Age option
does not get included (which indicates the default value of 60 seconds
according to
"https://rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7252#section-5.6.1[RFC7252 5.6.1. Freshness
Model]").

The application request handler for the resource is only called once instead of
potentially multiple times.

*NOTE:* This function must only be called once per _pdu_.

*NOTE:* Options cannot be added to the _pdu_ after
coap_add_data_large_request() is called.

*Function: coap_get_data_large()*

The *coap_get_data_large*() function is used abstract from the _pdu_
information about the received data by updating _length_ with the length of
data available, _data_ with a pointer to where the data is located, _offset_
with where this block of data starts and _total_ with the total amount of data.
_offset_ will always be zero if block_mode includes COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY.
All of the body's data has been received if "_offset_ + _length_ == _total_".

*NOTE:* _total_ is potentially only an indication of the total size of the
body and is only exact when all of the data has been received.

*Function: coap_block_build_body()*

The *coap_block_build_body*() function is used to re-assemble the received
data as returned by *coap_get_data_large*() into a single blob of data. Data
from _data_ of length _length_ starting from offset _offset_ is added to
_body_data_.  The resultant state of _body_data_ is returned. If _body_data_
is NULL, or _total_ is larger than the current size of _body_data_, then
_body_data_ is re-allocated and returned.  If there is an error, _body_data_
gets de-allocated.

If _block_mode_ (as set by *coap_context_set_block_mode*()) includes
COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY, then the request/response handler will only get called
once with the entire body containing the data from all of the individual
blocks. If there is a change of data during the blocks receipt (e.g., ETag
value changes), then the entire set of data is re-requested and the partial
body dropped.

*Function: coap_q_block_is_supported()*

The *coap_q_block_is_supported*() function is used to determine whether
libcoap has been build with Q-Block support or not.

RETURN VALUES
-------------
*coap_add_data_large_request*(), *coap_add_data_large_response*(), and
*coap_get_data_large*() return 0 on failure, 1 on success.

*coap_block_build_body*() returns the current state of the body's data
(which may have some missing gaps) or NULL on error.

*coap_q_block_is_supported*() returns 0 on failure, 1 on success.

EXAMPLES
--------
*Setup PDU and Transmit*

[source, c]
----
#include <coap@LIBCOAP_API_VERSION@/coap.h>

static int
build_send_pdu(coap_context_t *context, coap_session_t *session,
uint8_t msgtype, uint8_t request_code, const char *uri, const char *query,
unsigned char *data, size_t length, int observe) {

  coap_pdu_t *pdu;
  uint8_t buf[1024];
  size_t buflen;
  uint8_t *sbuf = buf;
  int res;
  coap_optlist_t *optlist_chain = NULL;
  /* Remove (void) definition if variable is used */
  (void)context;

  /* Create the pdu with the appropriate options */
  pdu = coap_pdu_init(msgtype, request_code, coap_new_message_id(session),
                      coap_session_max_pdu_size(session));
  if (!pdu)
    return 0;

  /*
   * Create unique token for this request for handling unsolicited /
   * delayed responses
   */
  coap_session_new_token(session, &buflen, buf);
  if (!coap_add_token(pdu, buflen, buf)) {
    coap_log_debug("cannot add token to request\n");
    goto error;
  }

  if (uri) {
    /* Add in the URI options */
    buflen = sizeof(buf);
    res = coap_split_path((const uint8_t*)uri, strlen(uri), sbuf, &buflen);
    while (res--) {
      if (!coap_insert_optlist(&optlist_chain,
                               coap_new_optlist(COAP_OPTION_URI_PATH,
                        coap_opt_length(sbuf), coap_opt_value(sbuf))))
        goto error;
      sbuf += coap_opt_size(sbuf);
    }
  }

  if (query) {
    /* Add in the QUERY options */
    buflen = sizeof(buf);
    res = coap_split_query((const uint8_t*)query, strlen(query), sbuf, &buflen);
    while (res--) {
      if (!coap_insert_optlist(&optlist_chain,
                               coap_new_optlist(COAP_OPTION_URI_QUERY,
                        coap_opt_length(sbuf), coap_opt_value(sbuf))))
        goto error;
      sbuf += coap_opt_size(sbuf);
    }
  }

  if (request_code == COAP_REQUEST_GET && observe) {
    /* Indicate that we want to observe this resource */
    if (!coap_insert_optlist(&optlist_chain,
                             coap_new_optlist(COAP_OPTION_OBSERVE,
                               coap_encode_var_safe(buf, sizeof(buf),
                               COAP_OBSERVE_ESTABLISH), buf)
                             ))
      goto error;
  }

  /* ... Other code / options etc. ... */

  /* Add in all the options (after internal sorting) to the pdu */
  if (!coap_add_optlist_pdu(pdu, &optlist_chain))
    goto error;

  if (data && length) {
    /* Add in the specified data */
    if (!coap_add_data_large_request(session, pdu, length, data, NULL, NULL))
      goto error;
  }

  if (coap_send(session, pdu) == COAP_INVALID_MID)
    goto error;
  return 1;

error:

  if (pdu)
    coap_delete_pdu(pdu);
  return 0;

}

int
main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
  coap_context_t *context = NULL;
  coap_session_t *session = NULL;
  unsigned char *data = NULL;
  size_t data_length = 0;

  (void)argc;
  (void)argv;

  /* Initialize libcoap library */
  coap_startup();

  /* ... Set up context, session etc. ... */

  /* Set up using libcoap to do the block work */
  coap_context_set_block_mode(context,
                              COAP_BLOCK_USE_LIBCOAP | COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY);

  /* ... Other code etc. ... */

  /* .. build data and define data_length ... */

  build_send_pdu(context, session, COAP_MESSAGE_CON, COAP_REQUEST_PUT,
                 "/example/uri", NULL, data, data_length, 0);

  /* ... Other code etc. ... */

  coap_cleanup();
  return 0;
}
----

*Resource Request Handler Response PDU Update*

[source, c]
----
#include <coap@LIBCOAP_API_VERSION@/coap.h>

#include <stdio.h>

static void
hnd_get_time(coap_resource_t *resource, coap_session_t *session,
const coap_pdu_t *request, const coap_string_t *query, coap_pdu_t *response) {

  unsigned char buf[40];
  size_t len;
  time_t now;

  /* ... Additional analysis code for resource, request pdu etc.  ... */

  /* After analysis, generate a failure response and return if needed */

  now = time(NULL);

  if (query != NULL && coap_string_equal(query, coap_make_str_const("secs"))) {
    /* Output secs since Jan 1 1970 */
    len = snprintf((char *)buf, sizeof(buf), "%lu", now);
  }
  else {
    /* Output human-readable time */
    struct tm *tmp;
    tmp = gmtime(&now);
    if (!tmp) {
      /* If 'now' is not valid */
      coap_pdu_set_code(response, COAP_RESPONSE_CODE_NOT_FOUND);
      return;
    }
    len = strftime((char *)buf, sizeof(buf), "%b %d %H:%M:%S", tmp);
  }
  coap_pdu_set_code(response, COAP_RESPONSE_CODE_CONTENT);
  /*
   * Invoke coap_add_data_large_response() to do all the hard work.
   * [A good practice, even though ins this case, the amount of data is small]
   *
   * Define the format - COAP_MEDIATYPE_TEXT_PLAIN - to add in
   * Define how long this response is valid for (secs) - 1 - to add in.
   *
   * Observe Option added internally if needed within the function
   * Block2 Option added internally if output too large
   * Size2 Option added internally
   * ETag Option added internally
   */
  coap_add_data_large_response(resource, session, request, response,
                               query, COAP_MEDIATYPE_TEXT_PLAIN, 1, 0,
                               len,
                               buf,
                               NULL, NULL);
  /*
   * When request handler returns, the response pdu will get automatically
   * sent, unless the pdu code is not updated and this is a NON or TCP based
   * request.
   */
}

int
main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
  coap_context_t *context = NULL;
  coap_resource_t *r;
  coap_resource_t *time_resource;
  int not_exit = 1;

  /* Initialize libcoap library */
  coap_startup();

  (void)argc;
  (void)argv;

  /* ... Set up context etc. ... */

  /* Set up using libcoap to do the block work */
  coap_context_set_block_mode(context,
                              COAP_BLOCK_USE_LIBCOAP | COAP_BLOCK_SINGLE_BODY);

  /* Create a resource to return time */
  r = coap_resource_init(coap_make_str_const("time"),
                         COAP_RESOURCE_FLAGS_NOTIFY_CON);
  coap_resource_set_get_observable(r, 1);
  coap_register_request_handler(r, COAP_REQUEST_GET, hnd_get_time);

  /* Document resource for 'time' request */
  coap_add_attr(r, coap_make_str_const("ct"), coap_make_str_const("0"), 0);
  coap_add_attr(r, coap_make_str_const("title"),
                coap_make_str_const("\"Internal Clock\""), 0);
  coap_add_attr(r, coap_make_str_const("rt"), coap_make_str_const("\"secs\""),
                0);
  coap_add_attr(r, coap_make_str_const("if"), coap_make_str_const("\"clock\""),
                0);

  coap_add_resource(context, r);
  time_resource = r;

  /* ... Loop waiting for incoming traffic ... */
  while (!not_exit) {
    coap_io_process(context, 1000);

    /* Cause a notification to anyone Observing 'time' */
    coap_resource_notify_observers(time_resource, NULL);
  }

  /* Clean up */

  coap_free_context(context);
  coap_cleanup();

}
----

SEE ALSO
--------
*coap_init*(3) *coap_pdu_setup*(3), *coap_observe*(3), and *coap_resource*(3)

FURTHER INFORMATION
-------------------
See

"https://rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7252[RFC7252: The Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP)]"

"https://rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc7959[RFC7959: Block-Wise Transfers in the Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP)]"

for further information.

BUGS
----
Please report bugs on the mailing list for libcoap:
libcoap-developers@lists.sourceforge.net or raise an issue on GitHub at
https://github.com/obgm/libcoap/issues

AUTHORS
-------
The libcoap project <libcoap-developers@lists.sourceforge.net>