• cURL manpage "--cookie-jar" option misleading; how are cookie jars used

    From Anonymous@21:1/5 to All on Sun Oct 4 15:55:04 2015
    The cURL man page describing the use of --cookie-jar is contradictory.
    It starts off talking only about *writing* cookies, leaving the reader
    confused as to when cookies are *read*:

    manpg> -c, --cookie-jar <file name>
    manpg>
    manpg> Specify to which file you want curl to write all cookies after
    manpg> a completed operation. Curl writes all cookies previously read
    manpg> from a specified file as well as all cookies received from
    manpg> remote server(s). If no cookies are known, no file will be
    manpg> written. The file will be written using the Netscape cookie
    manpg> file format. If you set the file name to a single dash, "-",
    manpg> the cookies will be written to stdout.

    As the reader wonders how/when cookies are read, the manpage continues
    to say:

    manpg> This command line option will activate the cookie engine that
    manpg> makes curl record and use cookies.

    Use of the term "cookie engine" implies to the user that some
    fully-featured machinery is going to take care of all the cookie
    handling, as a GUI browser does. Then it says the engine will "record
    /and use/ cookies". "Using" a cookie implies /reading/ it. But the --cookie-jar option never causes cookies to be read, does it?

    manpg> Another way to activate it is to use the -b, --cookie option.

    Saying "another way to..." implies that the --cookie option is an
    alternative to the --cookie-jar, but I've heard that the --cookie
    option is generally used *in tandem* with the --cookie-jar.

    Where can I find clear documentation on this topic, with working
    examples?

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