The following table shows the steps you might perform in a typical Internet client application.
Your goal | Actions you take | Effects |
Begin an Internet session. | Create a CInternetSession object. | Initializes WinInet and connects to server. |
Read or set an Internet query option (time-out limit or number of retries, for example). | Use CInternetSession:: QueryOption or CInternetSession:: SetOption. |
Returns FALSE if operation was unsuccessful. |
Establish a callback function to monitor the status of the session. | Use CInternetSession:: EnableStatusCallback. |
Establishes a callback to CInternetSession:: OnStatusCallback. Override OnStatusCallback to create your own callback routine. |
Connect to an Internet server, intranet server, or local file. | Use CInternetSession:: OpenURL. |
Parses the URL and opens a connection to the specified server. Returns a CStdioFile (if you pass OpenURL a local file name) or a CInternetFile. This is the object through which you access data retrieved from the server or file. |
Read from the file. | Use CInternetFile::Read. | Reads the specified number of bytes using a buffer you supply. |
Handle exceptions. | Use the CInternetException class. | Handles all common Internet exception types. |
End the Internet session. | Dispose of the CInternetSession object. | Automatically cleans up open file handles and connections. |