reliable is a C library designed to provide a simple and effective packet acknowledgement system for UDP-based communication protocols. It addresses the challenge of ensuring reliable delivery of UDP packets, which inherently lacks built-in reliability features. The library enables developers to track sent packets and receive confirmation of delivery, facilitating robust network applications.
The project offers explicit packet fragmentation and reassembly capabilities, allowing for efficient transmission of large messages over UDP. It provides estimates for Round Trip Time (RTT), jitter, and packet loss, giving developers valuable insights into network performance. The design prioritizes stability and production readiness, offering a straightforward API for integration into existing UDP-based systems.
- Acknowledgement: Provides confirmation upon successful packet reception.
- Fragmentation/Reassembly: Handles splitting packets into smaller units and reassembling them on the receiving end.
- RTT/Jitter/Loss: Estimates network latency, variability, and packet loss for performance monitoring.
- Flexible API: Designed to integrate with existing network socket libraries.
- Sequence Numbers: Tracks sent packet sequences for retransmission and accurate ordering.
- Configuration Options: Offers control over packet size, fragmentation thresholds and number of fragments.
- Resource Management: Includes functions for endpoint creation and proper resource cleanup.
The project appears to be stable and production-ready, evidenced by its active development and BSD 3-Clause license. The code is well-documented with a clear README. The author has a consistent track record of developing similar open-source libraries. Regular updates and a permissive license suggest ongoing maintenance and community support.
Developers building UDP-based applications can benefit from reliable by adding a layer of reliability and performance monitoring. This library is suitable for scenarios where data integrity is crucial, such as game development, IoT devices and network diagnostics. It simplifies the implementation of reliable UDP communication, reducing development time and complexity compared to building a custom solution.