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.TH curl_global_init 3 "11 May 2004" "libcurl 7.12" "libcurl Manual"
.SH NAME
curl_global_init - Global libcurl initialisation
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B #include <curl/curl.h>
.sp
.BI "CURLcode curl_global_init(long " flags ");"
.ad
.SH DESCRIPTION
This function sets up the program environment that libcurl needs.  Think of it
as an extension of the library loader.

This function must be called at least once within a program (a program is all
the code that shares a memory space) before the program calls any other
function in libcurl.  The environment it sets up is constant for the life of
the program and is the same for every program, so multiple calls have the same
effect as one call.

The flags option is a bit pattern that tells libcurl exactly what features to
init, as described below. Set the desired bits by ORing the values together.
In normal operation, you must specify CURL_GLOBAL_ALL.  Don't use any other
value unless you are familiar with it and mean to control internal operations of
libcurl.

\fBThis function is not thread safe.\fP You must not call it when any other
thread in the program (i.e. a thread sharing the same memory) is running.
This doesn't just mean no other thread that is using libcurl.  Because
\fIcurl_global_init()\fP calls functions of other libraries that are similarly
thread unsafe, it could conflict with any other thread that uses these other
libraries.

See the description in \fBlibcurl\fP(3) of global environment requirements for
details of how to use this function.

.SH FLAGS
.TP 5
.B CURL_GLOBAL_ALL
Initialize everything possible. This sets all known bits.
.TP
.B CURL_GLOBAL_SSL
Initialize SSL
.TP
.B CURL_GLOBAL_WIN32
Initialize the Win32 socket libraries.
.TP
.B CURL_GLOBAL_NOTHING
Initialise nothing extra. This sets no bit.
.TP
.B CURL_GLOBAL_DEFAULT
A sensible default. It will init both SSL and Win32. Right now, this equals
the functionality of the \fBCURL_GLOBAL_ALL\fP mask.
.SH RETURN VALUE
If this function returns non-zero, something went wrong and you cannot use the
other curl functions.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR curl_global_init_mem "(3), "
.BR curl_global_cleanup "(3), "
.BR curl_easy_init "(3) "
.BR libcurl "(3) "