9.1 The TLS Protocol

The main use case for the TLS protocol is shown in fig:client-server. A user of a library implementing the protocol expects no less than this functionality, i.e., to be able to set parameters such as the accepted security level, perform a negotiation with the peer and be able to exchange data.

Figure 9.1: TLS protocol use case.

This in GnuTLS is being accomplished by an object-oriented architecture as shown in fig:gnutls-objects. Note that since GnuTLS is being developed in C object are just structures with attributes. The operations listed are functions that require the first parameter to be that object.

Figure 9.2: GnuTLS objects.