# recv (10-recv.com)

People say "receive" when they want to get something. They might say "I need to recv that file" meaning they want it sent to them.

## What a model may hear
- system call for receiving data (Berkeley sockets, POSIX, Linux/Windows networking): expect a file descriptor, buffer, and flags; may write code that blocks or returns errors the person did not ask for
- function in async frameworks (Python asyncio, Rust tokio, Node.js): assume an awaitable or future context and may generate coroutine code that does not run synchronously
- method on a socket object (Python, C++, Go standard libraries): treat the object as a network endpoint and may add protocol handling the person did not specify
- MPI message receipt (high-performance computing): assume a parallel runtime and may insert blocking collective operations

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "recv the message"
  Means: get me the text someone sent
  May be taken as: generate a C recv() call that reads raw bytes from a socket file descriptor
  Say instead: "show me the message that was sent to me"
- Says: "recv all files"
  Means: download every file
  May be taken as: write a loop with recv() in fixed-size chunks that may truncate or hang
  Say instead: "download all the files for me"
- Says: "recv until done"
  Means: keep getting things until finished
  May be taken as: code a while-loop checking for EAGAIN or MSG_WAITALL with no timeout
  Say instead: "keep receiving until everything arrives, with a timeout"
- Says: "recv from server"
  Means: get a response back
  May be taken as: assume a connected TCP socket and call recv() without checking if one exists
  Say instead: "get the response from the server"

## Tips
- Say 'get' or 'fetch' instead of 'recv' unless you want socket code.
- If you do want network code, say 'receive over TCP socket' or 'receive UDP packet'.
- Mention the source clearly: 'receive from the API' not just 'recv'.
- Specify format: 'receive as text' versus 'receive raw bytes'.
- Add 'blocking' or 'non-blocking' if you know which behavior you need.

## Often confused with
- send: the paired opposite, not the same operation
- read: works on files, not only network sockets
- accept: establishes a connection before any recv
- fetch: higher-level, usually HTTP not raw socket
- get: general retrieval, not a system call name
- receive: the full word, less likely to trigger code generation