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.TH curl_easy_init 3 "14 August 2001" "libcurl 7.8.1" "libcurl Manual"
.SH NAME
curl_easy_init - Start a libcurl session
.SH SYNOPSIS
.B #include <curl/curl.h>
.sp
.BI "CURL *curl_easy_init( );"
.ad
.SH DESCRIPTION
This function must be the first function to call, and it returns a CURL handle
that you shall use as input to the other easy-functions. The init calls
intializes curl and this call MUST have a corresponding call to
.I curl_easy_cleanup
when the operation is complete.

On win32 systems, if you want to init the winsock stuff manually, libcurl will
not do that for you. WSAStartup() and WSACleanup() should then be called
accordingly.  If you want libcurl to handle this, use the CURL_GLOBAL_WIN32
flag in the initial curl_global_init() call.

Using libcurl 7.7 and later, you should perform all your sequential file
transfers using the same curl handle. This enables libcurl to use persistant
connections where possible.
.SH RETURN VALUE
If this function returns NULL, something went wrong and you cannot use the
other curl functions.
.SH "SEE ALSO"
.BR curl_easy_cleanup "(3), " curl_global_init "(3)
.SH BUGS
Surely there are some, you tell me!