HttpCurl Dart Reference Documentation

CkHttpCurl

Current Version: 11.7.0

Markdown version of this page for AI tools (v 11.7.0) · all AI docs

curl-style HTTP requests with dependency resolution

Run curl commands and automatically resolve values needed by later requests

The Chilkat.HttpCurl class executes HTTP requests expressed as curl commands, with support for variable substitution, reusable curl functions, automatic dependency resolution, response extraction, and structured diagnostics.

Variables such as {{access_token}}, {{site_id}}, or {{drive_id}} can appear in URLs, headers, query parameters, request bodies, the JSON paths that extract values from a response, and the local file path a response is written to. If a variable is not yet known, HttpCurl can build an execution plan from previously defined curl functions, run the prerequisite requests, extract values from JSON responses, and then execute the final target request.

Define dependencies Use AddFunction with AddOutput or AddOutput2.
Manage variables Use SetVar, GetVar, ClearVar, and GetAllVars.
Preview execution Use ExaminePlan or ToRawRequest before sending.
Read responses Get text, binary, JSON, XML, or stream directly to a file.

After DoYourThing completes, check StatusCode and retrieve the response using the appropriate getter. If something fails, FailReason, FailedCurl, and LastErrorText help identify the failed step and the reason.

Note: Chilkat.HttpCurl is not derived from curl/libcurl and does not wrap libcurl. It accepts curl-style command text and executes the request using Chilkat’s own HTTP implementation.

Object Creation

// pubspec.yaml:
//     dependencies:
//       chilkat: ^11.7.0

import 'package:chilkat/chilkat.dart';

// Once per process, before any other Chilkat call:
Chilkat.unlockBundle('Anything for 30-day trial');   // shorthand for CkGlobal().unlockBundle(..)

final httpCurl = CkHttpCurl();
// ... the native object is released when `httpCurl` is garbage collected, or now with httpCurl.dispose().
CkHttpCurl CkHttpCurl()

Creates the underlying native Chilkat object. Use a CkHttpCurl only from the isolate that created it: Chilkat objects cannot be sent between isolates. Every call is synchronous; in a Flutter app, run long operations (network, large files) inside Isolate.run, creating the Chilkat objects inside the isolate.

void dispose()

Releases the native object immediately instead of waiting for garbage collection (useful for a large CkBinData or an open socket). Calling it more than once is harmless; any other use of the object afterwards throws a StateError. isDisposed tells whether it has been called.

Errors

A method that can fail throws a ChilkatException: a method whose only outcome is success or failure returns void and throws on failure; a method producing a String or an object returns it and throws where Chilkat would have returned null. The exception carries the object's LastErrorText at the time of the failure (lastErrorText), the class and method names (className, methodName) and a one-line message. Properties never throw, and methods that answer a question (has..., is..., ...) return a plain bool.

try {
  httpCurl.someMethod(...);
} on ChilkatException catch (e) {
  print(e);                // CkHttpCurl.someMethod failed: <reason>
  print(e.lastErrorText);  // the full Chilkat log of the failed call
}

Properties

DebugLogFilePath
// read/write
String get debugLogFilePath
set debugLogFilePath(String value)

If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.

Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.

Possible causes of hangs include:

  • A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
  • A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
  • An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.

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EnableBodyVars
// read/write
bool get enableBodyVars
set enableBodyVars(bool value)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Enables variable substitution in the body of the request. The default value is true.

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FailedCurl
// read-only
String get failedCurl
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Set to the specific curl command in the execution plan that failed.

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FailReason
// read-only
int get failReason
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Set to an integer value indicating the reason for failure for the methods DoYourThing and ExaminePlan

Possible values are:

  1. No error - the method succeeded or hasn't yet been called.
  2. curl command syntax error.
  3. HTTP response status code indidcates an authentication (401) or authorization (403) error.
  4. HTTP response status code indicates an error, but not an authentication or authorization error.
  5. HTTP communications failure.
  6. Impossible to derive an execution plan from defined outputs and inputs.
  7. A step in the execution plan did not resolve any dependency variables.
  8. Failed to get curl data from a local file source (see the note below).
  9. If we are within a Chilkat.Js context and don't have permission to read the local filesystem.
  10. Chilkat has not been successfully unlocked by previously and successfully calling UnlockBundle.
  11. Failed to open or create the local output file (if a curl option directed output to a file).
  12. The response body is compressed with a Content-Encoding Chilkat cannot decode, such as Brotli (br) or zstd, so it is unusable. gzip and deflate are decoded automatically. (Introduced in v11.7.0.)

Note: curl can read data from a local file and send it in a request (usually POST/PUT) using special syntax:

  • -d @file.txt → reads the file and sends it as request body (form-style encoding).
  • --data-binary @file.bin → sends raw file contents exactly as-is.
  • -F "file=@file.txt" → uploads the file as multipart/form-data.

The @ tells curl to load the data from a local file instead of using a literal string.

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HeartbeatMs
// read/write
int get heartbeatMs
set heartbeatMs(int value)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Specifies the interval, in milliseconds, between AbortCheck event callbacks.

This allows an application to periodically decide whether a long-running operation should be aborted.

The default value is 0, which means no AbortCheck callbacks are generated.

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LastErrorHtml
// read-only
String get lastErrorHtml

Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorText
// read-only
String get lastErrorText

Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastErrorXml
// read-only
String get lastErrorXml

Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.

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LastMethodSuccess
// read/write
bool get lastMethodSuccess
set lastMethodSuccess(bool value)

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: true means success, false means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.

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ResponseBodyStr
// read-only
String get responseBodyStr
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Returns the HTTP response body from the last call to DoYourThing .

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ResponseFilePath
// read/write
String get responseFilePath
set responseFilePath(String value)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Set this property to the path of a file to stream the response body to a file. If the response is streamed to a file, it will not be available in ResponseBodyStr , GetResponseSb , or GetResponseBd .

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ResponseHeader
// read-only
String get responseHeader
Introduced in version 11.7.0

Returns the HTTP response header from the last call to DoYourThing: the status line (such as HTTP/1.1 200 OK) followed by the header fields, with CRLF line endings. Empty if no response was received. When redirects were followed (-L), this is the header of the final response. To get a single field, use GetResponseHeaderField. The curl -D/--dump-header option writes the header of every response (including redirects) to a file, and -i/--include writes the header before the body in the -o/-O output file; neither changes this property or the response body returned in memory.

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StatusCode
// read-only
int get statusCode
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Returns the HTTP status code from the last call to DoYourThing. A value of 0 indicates no response header was received.

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UncommonOptions
// read/write
String get uncommonOptions
set uncommonOptions(String value)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Provides a comma-separated list of uncommon option keywords.

This property defaults to an empty string and should normally remain empty.

Can be set to a list of the following comma separated keywords:

  • IgnoreUnknownCurlOptions - Introduced in v11.7.0. Starting in v11.7.0, a curl option that HttpCurl does not recognize causes DoYourThing to fail with a syntax error (FailReason = 1) naming the option in LastErrorText, rather than being silently dropped as in earlier versions. (Options that are meaningless to HttpCurl but harmless, such as --progress-bar or --retry, are accepted and ignored.) This keyword restores the earlier behavior: an unknown option is skipped with a note in LastErrorText. Note that the value of an unknown option that takes one is then seen as a stray token.

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VerboseLogging
// read/write
bool get verboseLogging
set verboseLogging(bool value)

If set to true, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is false. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
// read-only
String get version

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

More Information and Examples
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Methods

AddFunction
void addFunction(String funcName, String curl)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Adds a named curl function that can be used in dependency resolution. Inputs required by the curl function are indicated by the variable names enclosed in {{ and }}. Outputs are defined in one or more calls to AddOutput .

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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AddOutput
void addOutput(String funcName, String jsonPath, String varName)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Adds or updates a defined output for a dependency resolution curl function previously defined by calling AddFunction. The jsonPath is the JSON path in the JSON response body where the varName's value is located. If either the funcName or jsonPath already exist for the funcName, then the output is updated.

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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AddOutput2
void addOutput2(String funcName, String arrayPath, String wherePath, String whereValue, bool caseSensitive, String subPath, String varName)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Adds or updates an output variable definition for a dependency-resolution curl function previously created by calling AddFunction. Use this method when the curl response is JSON containing an array of objects, and a value needs to be extracted from one specific array element.

The method searches the array located at arrayPath, finds the array element where the value at wherePath matches whereValue, and then extracts the value at subPath. The extracted value is assigned to the variable named by varName.

The wherePath and subPath values are paths relative to each individual array element. The comparison between whereValue and the JSON value found at wherePath is either case-sensitive or case-insensitive depending on the value of caseSensitive.

Parameters

  • funcName — The name of the curl function previously added by calling AddFunction. The output definition is associated with this function.
  • arrayPath — The JSON path identifying the array of records within the JSON response. May contain variable references (see below).
  • wherePath — A relative JSON path within each array element used to locate the matching record. May contain variable references (see below).
  • whereValue — The value to match against the JSON value found at wherePath. May contain variable references (see below).
  • caseSensitive — If true, the comparison between whereValue and the JSON value is case-sensitive. If false, the comparison is case-insensitive.
  • subPath — A relative JSON path within the matched array element identifying the value to extract. May contain variable references (see below).
  • varName — The name of the variable that will receive the extracted value.

Variable references

Starting in v11.7.0, the arrayPath, wherePath, whereValue and subPath may each contain variable names enclosed in {{ and }}, such as {{site_name}}, either on their own or within a longer string such as result.{{list_name}}.items. Each is stored exactly as passed here, and the references in it are resolved every time this output is evaluated — not when AddOutput2 is called. A variable whose value is set later by SetVar, or that is produced as the output of another curl function, is therefore used with its current value.

A variable referenced here is treated as an input of the curl function, exactly like one appearing in the curl command itself, so the execution plan runs whatever produces it first. If a referenced variable has no value and nothing can produce it, the reference is left in place, no array element matches, and the LastErrorText reports the failure with both the resolved and the unresolved form of the record spec.

Example

Given the following JSON response:

{
  "drives": [
    {
      "name": "Documents",
      "id": "A123"
    },
    {
      "name": "Shared",
      "id": "B456"
    }
  ]
}

The following call:

AddOutput2("GetDrive","drives","name","shared",false,"id","drive_id")

searches the drives array for the element whose name matches "shared" using case-insensitive comparison. The matching element is:

{
  "name": "Shared",
  "id": "B456"
}

The value of id is extracted and assigned to the variable drive_id, resulting in:

drive_id = "B456"

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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AddTargetOutput
void addTargetOutput(String jsonPath, String varName)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Adds an automatically mapped variable for the target curl command. When a JSON response is received from a curl request, the value at the JSON path specified by jsonPath is extracted (if present) and assigned to the variable named by varName.

This is useful in common workflows where one request returns an identifier (such as an `id`) that must be reused in a subsequent curl request.

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ClearTargetOutput
void clearTargetOutput(String varName)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Clears (undefines) the target output for the specified varName. If varName equals "*", then all target outputs are cleared.

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ClearVar
void clearVar(String varName)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Undefines the variable with the specified name. If varName equals "*", then all variables are cleared.

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DoYourThing
void doYourThing(String targetCurl)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Runs a the targetCurl command specified in targetCurl. If the targetCurl contains variable names enclosed in {{ and }}, then an execution plan is constructed from defined functions and outputs to resolve unknown variables, and the execution plan is run. The final step in the execution plan is always the targetCurl command.

Returns success (true) if a response was received, in which case the response status code will be available in StatusCode and the content of the response body will be available in one of two places:

Assuming the HTTP response is JSON, the target outputs (variables) specified by prior calls to AddTargetOutput will be populated by applying each variable's JSON path to the response JSON.

Writing the response to a local file

A curl command may write the response body to a local file with -o / --output (an explicit filename), or with -O / --remote-name (the filename is the final path segment of the URL). Either may be combined with --output-dir, which, as in curl, is applied only when the filename itself contains no directory separator.

Starting in v11.7.0, the output file path may contain variable names enclosed in {{ and }}, resolved from the current variable values at the time the request is sent. This applies to the path given with -o, the directory given with --output-dir, and the URL that -O derives a filename from. In previous versions the path was used exactly as written, so -o "{{report_name}}.pdf" created a file literally named {{report_name}}.pdf and reported success.

httpCurl.SetVar("customer","acme");
httpCurl.SetVar("report_name","q3-summary");
httpCurl.DoYourThing("curl https://api.example.com/reports/{{report_name}} "
    "--output-dir \"reports/{{customer}}\" -o \"{{report_name}}.pdf\"");
// writes reports/acme/q3-summary.pdf

Two conditions cause the request to fail rather than write a file:

  • The resolved path still contains a {{varName}} reference, or a variable in it resolved to an empty string. (Elsewhere -- in a URL or a request body -- an unresolved reference is left in place. In a file path that would silently create a misnamed file.)
  • A variable substituted into the path has a value containing a .. directory segment. Because a variable's value can come from a server's response (see AddOutput and AddOutput2), a response must not be able to move the output file out of the directory the curl command named. A .. written literally in the curl command itself is the application's own choice and is allowed.

The path as it will actually be used is written to LastErrorText as resolvedOutputPath.

This is independent of the ResponseFilePath property, which streams the response body to a file for requests whose curl command names no output file.

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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ExaminePlan
void examinePlan(String curl, CkJsonObject json)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Used for debugging. Returns in json the plan of execution that would occur for the curl based on the variables that are either unknown or already known. The plan of execution is what would occur if DoYourThing was called with the current state of knowledge.

If no execution plan is possible with the current known inputs and outputs, then json provides information about what is missing and the method returns false.

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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GetAllVars
void getAllVars(CkJsonObject json)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Returns all defined variables in json.

More Information and Examples
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GetResponseBd
void getResponseBd(CkBinData bd)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Appends to bd the HTTP response body from the last call to DoYourThing.

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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GetResponseHeaderField
String getResponseHeaderField(String name)
Introduced in version 11.7.0

Returns the value of the response header field named name (case-insensitive) from the last call to DoYourThing, such as "Content-Type" or "ETag". Returns an empty string if the response has no such field. When redirects were followed (-L), the field is from the final response. The full response header is available in ResponseHeader.

Throws a ChilkatException on failure (where the description says null is returned, the Dart method throws instead).

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GetResponseJarr
void getResponseJarr(CkJsonArray jarr)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Writes to jarr the HTTP response body from the last call to DoYourThing.

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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GetResponseJson
void getResponseJson(CkJsonObject json)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Writes to json the HTTP response body from the last call to DoYourThing.

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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GetResponseSb
void getResponseSb(CkStringBuilder sb)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Appends to sb the HTTP response body from the last call to DoYourThing.

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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GetResponseXml
void getResponseXml(CkXml xml)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Writes to xml the HTTP response body from the last call to DoYourThing.

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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GetVar
String getVar(String varName)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Retrieves the current value of the variable specified by varName.

Throws a ChilkatException on failure (where the description says null is returned, the Dart method throws instead).

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SetAuth
void setAuth(CkJsonObject json)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Sets authorization information that is applied to all calls to DoYourThing . See the examples below for details.

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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SetVar
void setVar(String varName, String varValue)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Sets the value of a variable to be replaced in curl commands. Variable names are enclosed in {{ and }} and can occur in the path, query params, or the body of the request. Starting in v11.7.0, they can also occur in the arrayPath, wherePath, whereValue and subPath passed to AddOutput2, and in the local output file path of a curl command -- the path given with -o or --output, the directory given with --output-dir, and the URL that -O derives a filename from. See DoYourThing .

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ToRawRequest
void toRawRequest(String curlCommand, CkStringBuilder sb)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Used for debugging purposes. This method behaves the same as DoYourThing , but only converts the curlCommand to an HTTP request message in sb containing the full structure:

  • start line
  • headers
  • optional body or multipart body

It does not actually send the HTTP request.

Returns normally on success; throws a ChilkatException on failure.

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VarDefined
bool varDefined(String varName)
Introduced in version 11.5.0

Returns true if the varName is defined, otherwise returns false. Setting varName to "!" checks whether all target output variables have been defined. It returns true if every target output is set, and false if any are missing.

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Events

All Chilkat methods are synchronous: the call returns when the work is done. During a call, CkHttpCurl raises three events so your application can show progress and offer a way out. Each event is a nullable callback property on the object; assign a function to receive it, or null to stop receiving it:

final httpCurl = CkHttpCurl();
httpCurl.onPercentDone = (pct) {
  print('$pct%');
  return false;   // return true to abort the method in progress
};
httpCurl.onProgressInfo = (name, value) => print('$name: $value');
httpCurl.heartbeatMs = 250;   // raise onAbortCheck 4 times per second during Chilkat calls
httpCurl.onAbortCheck = () => _userPressedCancel;

AbortCheck fires at regular intervals controlled by the HeartbeatMs property (0, the default, disables it); PercentDone fires when an operation's completion percentage is known; ProgressInfo delivers named progress values. Returning true from onAbortCheck or onPercentDone aborts the running method, which then throws a ChilkatException.

Events fire on the thread that called the method, before that method returns. An exception thrown inside a callback aborts the running method and is rethrown from it once the native library has returned. In a Flutter app the callbacks run inside the worker isolate that owns the object; forward progress to the UI through a SendPort, and let onAbortCheck read a flag the UI sets the same way.

AbortCheck
// callback property; return true to abort the method in progress
bool Function()? onAbortCheck

Enables a method call to be aborted by triggering the AbortCheck event at intervals defined by the HeartbeatMs property. If HeartbeatMs is set to its default value of 0, no events will occur. For instance, set HeartbeatMs to 200 to trigger 5 AbortCheck events per second.

More Information and Examples

Example:

httpCurl.heartbeatMs = 250;   // call onAbortCheck 4 times per second

var cancelRequested = false;
httpCurl.onAbortCheck = () => cancelRequested;
// ... set cancelRequested = true (e.g. from a message received on a ReceivePort) to abort the method in progress
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PercentDone
// callback property; return true to abort the method in progress
bool Function(int pctDone)? onPercentDone

This provides the percentage completion for any method involving network communications or time-consuming processing, assuming the progress can be measured as a percentage. This event is triggered only when it's possible and logical to express the operation's progress as a percentage. The pctDone argument will range from 1 to 100. For methods that finish quickly, the number of PercentDone callbacks may vary, but the final callback will have pctDone equal to 100. For longer operations, callbacks will not exceed one per percentage point (e.g., 1, 2, 3, ..., 98, 99, 100).

The PercentDone callback also acts as an AbortCheck event. For fast methods where PercentDone fires, an AbortCheck event may not trigger since the PercentDone callback already provides an opportunity to abort. For longer operations, where time between PercentDone callbacks is extended, AbortCheck callbacks enable more responsive operation termination.

To abort the operation, set the abort output argument to true. This will cause the method to terminate and return a failure status or corresponding failure value.

More Information and Examples

Example:

httpCurl.onPercentDone = (pct) {
  // pct ranges from 1 to 100.
  print('Percent done: $pct');
  return false;   // return true to abort the method in progress
};
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ProgressInfo
// callback property
void Function(String name, String value)? onProgressInfo

This event callback provides tag name/value pairs that detail what occurs during a method call. To discover existing tag names, create code to handle the event, emit the pairs, and review them. Most tag names are self-explanatory.

Note: Some Chilkat methods don't fire any ProgressInfo events.

More Information and Examples

Example:

httpCurl.onProgressInfo = (name, value) => print('$name: $value');
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