If we want to examine the data but still leave it on the receive queue for some other part of our process to read, we can use the MSG_PEEK flag (Figure 14.6). If we want to do this, but we are not sure that something is ready to be read, we can use this flag with a nonblocking socket or combine this flag with the MSG_DONTWAIT flag.
Be aware that the amount of data on the receive queue can change between two successive calls to recv for a stream socket. For example, assume we call recv for a TCP socket specifying a buffer length of 1,024 along with the MSG_PEEK flag, and the return value is 100. If we then call recv again, it is possible for more than 100 bytes to be returned (assuming we specify a buffer length greater than 100), because more data can be received by TCP between our two calls.
In the case of a UDP socket with a datagram on the receive queue, if we call recvfrom specifying MSG_PEEK, followed by another call without specifying MSG_PEEK, the return values from both calls (the datagram size, its contents, and the sender's address) will be the same, even if more datagrams are added to the socket receive buffer between the two calls. (We are assuming, of course, that some other process is not sharing the same descriptor and reading from this socket at the same time.)
