openssl/doc/crypto/BN_CTX_start.pod

50 lines
1.3 KiB
Plaintext
Raw Normal View History

=pod
=head1 NAME
BN_CTX_start, BN_CTX_get, BN_CTX_end - use temporary BIGNUM variables
=head1 SYNOPSIS
#include <openssl/bn.h>
void BN_CTX_start(BN_CTX *ctx);
BIGNUM *BN_CTX_get(BN_CTX *ctx);
void BN_CTX_end(BN_CTX *ctx);
=head1 DESCRIPTION
These functions are used to obtain temporary B<BIGNUM> variables from
a B<BN_CTX> in order to save the overhead of repeatedly creating and
freeing B<BIGNUM>s in functions that are called from inside a loop.
A function must call BN_CTX_start() first. Then, BN_CTX_get() may be
called repeatedly to obtain temporary B<BIGNUM>s. All BN_CTX_get()
calls must be made before calling any other functions that use the
B<ctx> as an argument.
Finally, BN_CTX_end() must be called before returning from the function.
When BN_CTX_end() is called, the B<BIGNUM> pointers obtained from
BN_CTX_get() become invalid.
=head1 RETURN VALUES
BN_CTX_start() and BN_CTX_end() return no values.
BN_CTX_get() returns a pointer to the B<BIGNUM>, or B<NULL> on error.
Once BN_CTX_get() has failed, the subsequent calls will return B<NULL>
as well, so it is sufficient to check the return value of the last
BN_CTX_get() call.
=head1 SEE ALSO
L<BN_CTX_new(3)|BN_CTX_new(3)>
=head1 HISTORY
BN_CTX_start(), BN_CTX_get() and BN_CTX_end() were added in OpenSSL 0.9.5.
=cut