diff --git a/TODO b/TODO
index 9fdb1e8..bd8a950 100644
--- a/TODO
+++ b/TODO
@@ -1,7 +1,17 @@
-replace times by getrusage
+change send/recv to avoid using select
+
+add gethostname and use it in HTTP, SMTP etc, and add manual entry.
+add local connect, and manual entry
+add shutdown, and manual entry
+
+only allocate in case of success
+only call select if io fails...
+Proxy support pro http
+
+make REUSEADDR an option...
 
 make sure modules know if their dependencies are there.
-
+_
 one thing i noticed in usocket.c is that it doesn't check for EINTR
 after write(), sendto(), read(), recvfrom() etc. ?  the usual trick is
 to loop while you get EINTR:
@@ -68,7 +78,6 @@ Ajeitar o protocolo da luaopen_socket()... sei l
   - proteger ou atomizar o conjunto (timedout, receive), (timedout, send)
   - inet_ntoa também é uma merda.
 - SSL
-- Proxy support pro http
 
 - checar operações em closed sockets
 - checar teste de writable socket com select
diff --git a/etc/get.lua b/etc/get.lua
index a093e24..2d804a0 100644
--- a/etc/get.lua
+++ b/etc/get.lua
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ end
 function getbyhttp(url, file, size)
     local response = socket.http.request_cb(
         {url = url},
-		{body_cb = receive2disk(file, size)} 
+		{body_cb = receive2disk(file, size)}
     )
 	print()
 	if response.code ~= 200 then print(response.status or response.error) end
diff --git a/src/http.lua b/src/http.lua
index 18a44b6..1925c68 100644
--- a/src/http.lua
+++ b/src/http.lua
@@ -5,22 +5,29 @@
 -- Conforming to: RFC 2616, LTN7
 -- RCS ID: $Id$
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-local Public, Private = {}, {}
-local socket = _G[LUASOCKET_LIBNAME] -- get LuaSocket namespace
-socket.http = Public  -- create http sub namespace
+-- make sure LuaSocket is loaded
+if not LUASOCKET_LIBNAME then error('module requires LuaSocket') end
+-- get LuaSocket namespace
+local socket = _G[LUASOCKET_LIBNAME] 
+if not socket then error('module requires LuaSocket') end
+-- create smtp namespace inside LuaSocket namespace
+local http = {}
+socket.http = http
+-- make all module globals fall into smtp namespace
+setmetatable(http, { __index = _G })
+setfenv(1, http)
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Program constants
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- connection timeout in seconds
-Public.TIMEOUT = 60 
+TIMEOUT = 60 
 -- default port for document retrieval
-Public.PORT = 80
+PORT = 80
 -- user agent field sent in request
-Public.USERAGENT = "LuaSocket 2.0"
+USERAGENT = "LuaSocket 2.0"
 -- block size used in transfers
-Public.BLOCKSIZE = 8192
+BLOCKSIZE = 8192
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Tries to get a pattern from the server and closes socket on error
@@ -30,7 +37,7 @@ Public.BLOCKSIZE = 8192
 --   received pattern on success
 --   nil followed by error message on error
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.try_receive(sock, pattern)
+local function try_receiving(sock, pattern)
     local data, err = sock:receive(pattern)
     if not data then sock:close() end
     return data, err
@@ -43,25 +50,12 @@ end
 -- Returns
 --   err: error message if any, nil if successfull
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.try_send(sock, data)
-    local sent, err = sock:send(data)
+local function try_sending(sock, ...)
+    local sent, err = sock:send(unpack(arg))
     if not sent then sock:close() end
     return err
 end
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--- Computes status code from HTTP status line
--- Input
---   line: HTTP status line
--- Returns
---   code: integer with status code, or nil if malformed line
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.get_statuscode(line)
-    local code, _
-    _, _, code = string.find(line, "HTTP/%d*%.%d* (%d%d%d)")
-    return tonumber(code)
-end
-
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Receive server reply messages, parsing for status code
 -- Input
@@ -71,10 +65,13 @@ end
 --   line: full HTTP status line
 --   err: error message if any
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.receive_status(sock)
+local function receive_status(sock)
     local line, err
-    line, err = Private.try_receive(sock)
-    if not err then return Private.get_statuscode(line), line
+    line, err = try_receiving(sock)
+    if not err then 
+        local code, _
+        _, _, code = string.find(line, "HTTP/%d*%.%d* (%d%d%d)")
+        return tonumber(code), line
     else return nil, nil, err end
 end
 
@@ -89,11 +86,12 @@ end
 --        all name_i are lowercase
 --   nil and error message in case of error
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.receive_headers(sock, headers)
+local function receive_headers(sock, headers)
     local line, err
     local name, value, _
+    headers = headers or {}
     -- get first line
-    line, err = Private.try_receive(sock)
+    line, err = try_receiving(sock)
     if err then return nil, err end
     -- headers go until a blank line is found
     while line ~= "" do
@@ -105,12 +103,12 @@ function Private.receive_headers(sock, headers)
         end
         name = string.lower(name)
         -- get next line (value might be folded)
-        line, err = Private.try_receive(sock)
+        line, err = try_receiving(sock)
         if err then return nil, err end
         -- unfold any folded values
         while not err and string.find(line, "^%s") do
             value = value .. line
-            line, err = Private.try_receive(sock)
+            line, err = try_receiving(sock)
             if err then return nil, err end
         end
         -- save pair in table
@@ -120,6 +118,19 @@ function Private.receive_headers(sock, headers)
     return headers
 end
 
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- Aborts a receive callback
+-- Input
+--   cb: callback function
+--   err: error message to pass to callback
+-- Returns
+--   callback return or if nil err
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+local function abort(cb, err) 
+    local go, err_or_f = cb(nil, err)
+    return err_or_f or err
+end
+
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Receives a chunked message body
 -- Input
@@ -129,54 +140,37 @@ end
 -- Returns
 --   nil if successfull or an error message in case of error
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.receivebody_bychunks(sock, headers, receive_cb)
-    local chunk, size, line, err, go, uerr, _
+local function receive_body_bychunks(sock, headers, receive_cb)
+    local chunk, size, line, err, go, err_or_f, _
     while 1 do
         -- get chunk size, skip extention
-        line, err = Private.try_receive(sock)
-        if err then 
-            local go, uerr = receive_cb(nil, err)
-            return uerr or err
-        end
+        line, err = try_receiving(sock)
+        if err then return abort(receive_cb, err) end
         size = tonumber(string.gsub(line, ";.*", ""), 16)
-        if not size then 
-            err = "invalid chunk size"
-            sock:close()
-            go, uerr = receive_cb(nil, err)
-            return uerr or err
-        end
+        if not size then return abort(receive_cb, "invalid chunk size") end
         -- was it the last chunk?
         if size <= 0 then break end
         -- get chunk
-        chunk, err = Private.try_receive(sock, size) 
-        if err then 
-            go, uerr = receive_cb(nil, err)
-            return uerr or err
-        end
+        chunk, err = try_receiving(sock, size) 
+        if err then return abort(receive_cb, err) end
         -- pass chunk to callback
-        go, uerr = receive_cb(chunk) 
-        if not go then
-            sock:close()
-            return uerr or "aborted by callback"
-        end
+        go, err_or_f = receive_cb(chunk) 
+        -- see if callback needs to be replaced
+        receive_cb = err_or_f or receive_cb
+        -- see if callback aborted
+        if not go then return err_or_f or "aborted by callback" end
         -- skip CRLF on end of chunk
-        _, err = Private.try_receive(sock)
-        if err then 
-            go, uerr = receive_cb(nil, err)
-            return uerr or err
-        end
+        _, err = try_receiving(sock)
+        if err then return abort(receive_cb, err) end
     end
     -- the server should not send trailer  headers because we didn't send a
     -- header informing  it we know  how to deal with  them. we do not risk
     -- being caught unprepaired.
-    headers, err = Private.receive_headers(sock, headers)
-    if err then
-        go, uerr = receive_cb(nil, err)
-        return uerr or err
-    end
+    _, err = receive_headers(sock, headers)
+    if err then return abort(receive_cb, err) end
     -- let callback know we are done
-    go, uerr = receive_cb("")
-    return uerr
+    _, err_or_f = receive_cb("")
+    return err_or_f
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -188,25 +182,21 @@ end
 -- Returns
 --   nil if successfull or an error message in case of error
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.receivebody_bylength(sock, length, receive_cb)
-    local uerr, go
+local function receive_body_bylength(sock, length, receive_cb)
     while length > 0 do
-        local size = math.min(Public.BLOCKSIZE, length)
+        local size = math.min(BLOCKSIZE, length)
         local chunk, err = sock:receive(size)
-        -- if there was an error before we got all the data
-        if err and string.len(chunk) ~= length then
-            go, uerr = receive_cb(nil, err)
-            return uerr or err
-        end
-        go, uerr = receive_cb(chunk)
-        if not go then 
-            sock:close()
-            return uerr or "aborted by callback" 
-        end
-        length = length - size 
+        local go, err_or_f = receive_cb(chunk)
+        length = length - string.len(chunk)
+        -- see if callback aborted
+        if not go then return err_or_f or "aborted by callback" end
+        -- see if callback needs to be replaced
+        receive_cb = err_or_f or receive_cb
+        -- see if there was an error 
+        if err and length > 0 then return abort(receive_cb, err) end
     end
-    go, uerr = receive_cb("")
-    return uerr
+    local _, err_or_f = receive_cb("")
+    return err_or_f
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -217,24 +207,24 @@ end
 -- Returns
 --   nil if successfull or an error message in case of error
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.receivebody_untilclosed(sock, receive_cb)
-    local err, go, uerr
+local function receive_body_untilclosed(sock, receive_cb)
     while 1 do
-        local chunk, err = sock:receive(Public.BLOCKSIZE)
-        if err == "closed" or not err then 
-            go, uerr = receive_cb(chunk)
-            if not go then
-                sock:close()
-                return uerr or "aborted by callback"
+        local chunk, err = sock:receive(BLOCKSIZE)
+        local go, err_or_f = receive_cb(chunk)
+        -- see if callback aborted
+        if not go then return err_or_f or "aborted by callback" end
+        -- see if callback needs to be replaced
+        receive_cb = err_or_f or receive_cb
+        -- see if we are done
+        if err == "closed" then
+            if chunk ~= "" then
+                go, err_or_f = receive_cb("")
+                return err_or_f
             end
-            if err == "closed" then break end
-        else 
-            go, uerr = callback(nil, err)
-            return uerr or err
         end
+        -- see if there was an error
+        if err then return abort(receive_cb, err) end
     end
-    go, uerr = receive_cb("")
-    return uerr
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -246,59 +236,68 @@ end
 -- Returns
 --    nil if successfull or an error message in case of error
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.receive_body(sock, headers, receive_cb)
+local function receive_body(sock, headers, receive_cb)
     local te = headers["transfer-encoding"]
     if te and te ~= "identity" then 
         -- get by chunked transfer-coding of message body
-        return Private.receivebody_bychunks(sock, headers, receive_cb)
+        return receive_body_bychunks(sock, headers, receive_cb)
     elseif tonumber(headers["content-length"]) then
         -- get by content-length
         local length = tonumber(headers["content-length"])
-        return Private.receivebody_bylength(sock, length, receive_cb)
+        return receive_body_bylength(sock, length, receive_cb)
     else 
         -- get it all until connection closes
-        return Private.receivebody_untilclosed(sock, receive_cb) 
+        return receive_body_untilclosed(sock, receive_cb) 
     end
 end
 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--- Drop HTTP response body
--- Input
---   sock: socket connected to the server
---   headers: response header fields
--- Returns
---    nil if successfull or an error message in case of error
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.drop_body(sock, headers)
-    return Private.receive_body(sock, headers, function (c, e) return 1 end)
-end
-
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Sends data comming from a callback
 -- Input
 --   data: data connection
 --   send_cb: callback to produce file contents
---   chunk, size: first callback return values
 -- Returns
 --   nil if successfull, or an error message in case of error
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.send_indirect(data, send_cb, chunk, size)
-    local total, sent, err
-    total = 0
+local function send_body_bychunks(data, send_cb)
     while 1 do
-        if type(chunk) ~= "string" or type(size) ~= "number" then
-            data:close()
-            if not chunk and type(size) == "string" then return size
-            else return "invalid callback return" end
-        end
-        sent, err = data:send(chunk)
-        if err then 
-            data:close() 
-            return err 
-        end
-        total = total + sent
-        if total >= size then break end
-        chunk, size = send_cb()
+        local chunk, err_or_f = send_cb()
+        -- check if callback aborted
+        if not chunk then return err_or_f or "aborted by callback" end
+        -- check if callback should be replaced
+        send_cb = err_or_f or send_cb
+        -- if we are done, send last-chunk
+        if chunk == "" then return try_sending(data, "0\r\n\r\n") end
+        -- else send middle chunk
+        local err = try_sending(data, 
+            string.format("%X\r\n", string.len(chunk)),
+            chunk, 
+            "\r\n"
+        )
+        if err then return err end
+    end
+end
+
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+-- Sends data comming from a callback
+-- Input
+--   data: data connection
+--   send_cb: callback to produce body contents
+-- Returns
+--   nil if successfull, or an error message in case of error
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
+local function send_body_bylength(data, send_cb)
+    while 1 do
+        local chunk, err_or_f = send_cb()
+        -- check if callback aborted
+        if not chunk then return err_or_f or "aborted by callback" end
+        -- check if callback should be replaced
+        send_cb = err_or_f or send_cb
+        -- check if callback is done
+        if chunk == "" then return end
+        -- send data
+        local err = try_sending(data, chunk)
+        if err then return err end
     end
 end
 
@@ -310,16 +309,16 @@ end
 -- Returns
 --   err: error message if any
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.send_headers(sock, headers)
+local function send_headers(sock, headers)
     local err
     headers = headers or {}
     -- send request headers 
     for i, v in headers do
-        err = Private.try_send(sock, i .. ": " .. v .. "\r\n")
+        err = try_sending(sock, i .. ": " .. v .. "\r\n")
         if err then return err end
     end
     -- mark end of request headers
-    return Private.try_send(sock, "\r\n")
+    return try_sending(sock, "\r\n")
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -333,43 +332,39 @@ end
 -- Returns
 --   err: nil in case of success, error message otherwise
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.send_request(sock, method, uri, headers, body_cb)
+local function send_request(sock, method, uri, headers, body_cb)
     local chunk, size, done, err
     -- send request line
-    err = Private.try_send(sock, method .. " " .. uri .. " HTTP/1.1\r\n")
+    err = try_sending(sock, method .. " " .. uri .. " HTTP/1.1\r\n")
     if err then return err end
-    -- if there is a request message body, add content-length header
-    chunk, size = body_cb()
-    if type(chunk) == "string" and type(size) == "number" then
-		if size > 0 then 
-			headers["content-length"] = tostring(size) 
-		end
-    else
-        sock:close()
-        if not chunk and type(size) == "string" then return size
-        else return "invalid callback return" end
+    if body_cb and not headers["content-length"] then
+        headers["transfer-encoding"] = "chunked"   
     end
     -- send request headers 
-    err = Private.send_headers(sock, headers)
+    err = send_headers(sock, headers)
     if err then return err end
     -- send request message body, if any
     if body_cb then 
-        return Private.send_indirect(sock, body_cb, chunk, size) 
+        if not headers["content-length"] then
+            return send_body_bychunks(sock, body_cb) 
+        else
+            return send_body_bylength(sock, body_cb) 
+        end
     end
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Determines if we should read a message body from the server response
 -- Input
---   request: a table with the original request information
---   response: a table with the server response information
+--   reqt: a table with the original request information
+--   respt: a table with the server response information
 -- Returns
 --   1 if a message body should be processed, nil otherwise
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.has_body(request, response)
-    if request.method == "HEAD" then return nil end
-    if response.code == 204 or response.code == 304 then return nil end
-    if response.code >= 100 and response.code < 200 then return nil end
+local function should_receive_body(reqt, respt)
+    if reqt.method == "HEAD" then return nil end
+    if respt.code == 204 or respt.code == 304 then return nil end
+    if respt.code >= 100 and respt.code < 200 then return nil end
     return 1
 end
 
@@ -381,11 +376,11 @@ end
 -- Returns
 --   lower: a table with the same headers, but with lowercase field names
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.fill_headers(headers, parsed)
+local function fill_headers(headers, parsed)
     local lower = {}
     headers = headers or {}
     -- set default headers
-    lower["user-agent"] = Public.USERAGENT
+    lower["user-agent"] = USERAGENT
     -- override with user values
     for i,v in headers do
         lower[string.lower(i)] = v
@@ -399,15 +394,15 @@ end
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Decides wether we should follow retry with authorization formation
 -- Input
---   request: a table with the original request information
+--   reqt: a table with the original request information
 --   parsed: parsed request URL
---   response: a table with the server response information
+--   respt: a table with the server response information
 -- Returns
 --   1 if we should retry, nil otherwise
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.should_authorize(request, parsed, response)
+local function should_authorize(reqt, parsed, respt)
     -- if there has been an authorization attempt, it must have failed
-    if request.headers["authorization"] then return nil end
+    if reqt.headers["authorization"] then return nil end
     -- if we don't have authorization information, we can't retry
     if parsed.user and parsed.password then return 1
     else return nil end
@@ -416,66 +411,66 @@ end
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Returns the result of retrying a request with authorization information
 -- Input
---   request: a table with the original request information
+--   reqt: a table with the original request information
 --   parsed: parsed request URL
---   response: a table with the server response information
+--   respt: a table with the server response information
 -- Returns
---   response: result of target redirection
+--   respt: result of target authorization
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.authorize(request, parsed, response)
-    request.headers["authorization"] = "Basic " .. 
-        socket.code.base64(parsed.user .. ":" .. parsed.password)
-    local authorize = {
-        redirects = request.redirects,
-        method = request.method,
-        url = request.url,
-        body_cb = request.body_cb,
-        headers = request.headers
+local function authorize(reqt, parsed, respt)
+    reqt.headers["authorization"] = "Basic " .. 
+        socket.code.base64.encode(parsed.user .. ":" .. parsed.password)
+    local autht = {
+        nredirects = reqt.nredirects,
+        method = reqt.method,
+        url = reqt.url,
+        body_cb = reqt.body_cb,
+        headers = reqt.headers
     }
-    return Public.request_cb(authorize, response)
+    return request_cb(autht, respt)
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Decides wether we should follow a server redirect message
 -- Input
---   request: a table with the original request information
---   response: a table with the server response information
+--   reqt: a table with the original request information
+--   respt: a table with the server response information
 -- Returns
 --   1 if we should redirect, nil otherwise
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.should_redirect(request, response)
-    local follow = not request.stay
-    follow = follow and (response.code == 301 or response.code == 302)
-    follow = follow and (request.method == "GET" or request.method == "HEAD")
-    follow = follow and not (request.redirects and request.redirects >= 5)
+local function should_redirect(reqt, respt)
+    local follow = not reqt.stay
+    follow = follow and (respt.code == 301 or respt.code == 302)
+    follow = follow and (reqt.method == "GET" or reqt.method == "HEAD")
+    follow = follow and not (reqt.nredirects and reqt.nredirects >= 5)
     return follow
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Returns the result of a request following a server redirect message.
 -- Input
---   request: a table with the original request information
---   response: a table with the following fields:
+--   reqt: a table with the original request information
+--   respt: a table with the following fields:
 --     body_cb: response method body receive-callback
 -- Returns
---   response: result of target redirection
+--   respt: result of target redirection
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.redirect(request, response)
-    local redirects = request.redirects or 0
-    redirects = redirects + 1
-    local redirect = {
-        redirects = redirects,
-        method = request.method,
+local function redirect(reqt, respt)
+    local nredirects = reqt.nredirects or 0
+    nredirects = nredirects + 1
+    local redirt = {
+        nredirects = nredirects,
+        method = reqt.method,
         -- the RFC says the redirect URL has to be absolute, but some
         -- servers do not respect that 
-        url = socket.url.absolute(request.url, response.headers["location"]),
-        body_cb = request.body_cb,
-        headers = request.headers
+        url = socket.url.absolute(reqt.url, respt.headers["location"]),
+        body_cb = reqt.body_cb,
+        headers = reqt.headers
     }
-    local response = Public.request_cb(redirect, response)
+    respt = request_cb(redirt, respt)
     -- we pass the location header as a clue we tried to redirect
-    if response.headers then response.headers.location = redirect.url end
-    return response
+    if respt.headers then respt.headers.location = redirt.url end
+    return respt
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -485,7 +480,7 @@ end
 -- Returns
 --   uri: request URI for parsed URL
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.request_uri(parsed)
+local function request_uri(parsed)
     local uri = ""
     if parsed.path then uri = uri .. parsed.path end
     if parsed.params then uri = uri .. ";" .. parsed.params end
@@ -502,105 +497,110 @@ end
 --     user: account user name
 --     password: account password)
 -- Returns
---   request: request table
+--   reqt: request table
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Private.build_request(data)
-    local request = {}
+local function build_request(data)
+    local reqt = {}
     if type(data) == "table" then 
 		for i, v in data 
-			do request[i] = v 
+			do reqt[i] = v 
 		end
-    else request.url = data end
-    return request
+    else reqt.url = data end
+    return reqt
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Sends a HTTP request and retrieves the server reply using callbacks to
 -- send the request body and receive the response body
 -- Input
---   request: a table with the following fields
+--   reqt: a table with the following fields
 --     method: "GET", "PUT", "POST" etc (defaults to "GET")
 --     url: target uniform resource locator
 --     user, password: authentication information
 --     headers: request headers to send, or nil if none
 --     body_cb: request message body send-callback, or nil if none
 --     stay: should we refrain from following a server redirect message?
---   response: a table with the following fields:
+--   respt: a table with the following fields:
 --     body_cb: response method body receive-callback
 -- Returns
---   response: a table with the following fields: 
+--   respt: a table with the following fields: 
 --     headers: response header fields received, or nil if failed
 --     status: server response status line, or nil if failed
 --     code: server status code, or nil if failed
 --     error: error message, or nil if successfull
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Public.request_cb(request, response)
-    local parsed = socket.url.parse(request.url, {
+function request_cb(reqt, respt)
+    local parsed = socket.url.parse(reqt.url, {
         host = "",
-        port = Public.PORT, 
+        port = PORT, 
         path ="/",
 		scheme = "http"
     })
 	if parsed.scheme ~= "http" then
-		response.error = string.format("unknown scheme '%s'", parsed.scheme)
-		return response
+		respt.error = string.format("unknown scheme '%s'", parsed.scheme)
+		return respt
 	end
     -- explicit authentication info overrides that given by the URL
-    parsed.user = request.user or parsed.user
-    parsed.password = request.password or parsed.password
+    parsed.user = reqt.user or parsed.user
+    parsed.password = reqt.password or parsed.password
     -- default method
-    request.method = request.method or "GET"
+    reqt.method = reqt.method or "GET"
     -- fill default headers
-    request.headers = Private.fill_headers(request.headers, parsed)
+    reqt.headers = fill_headers(reqt.headers, parsed)
     -- try to connect to server
     local sock
-    sock, response.error = socket.connect(parsed.host, parsed.port)
-    if not sock then return response end
+    sock, respt.error = socket.connect(parsed.host, parsed.port)
+    if not sock then return respt end
     -- set connection timeout so that we do not hang forever
-    sock:settimeout(Public.TIMEOUT)
+    sock:settimeout(TIMEOUT)
     -- send request message
-    response.error = Private.send_request(sock, request.method, 
-        Private.request_uri(parsed), request.headers, request.body_cb)
-    if response.error then return response end
+    respt.error = send_request(sock, reqt.method, 
+        request_uri(parsed), reqt.headers, reqt.body_cb)
+    if respt.error then 
+        sock:close()
+        return respt 
+    end
     -- get server response message
-    response.code, response.status, response.error = 
-        Private.receive_status(sock)
-    if response.error then return response end
-    -- deal with 1xx status
-    if response.code == 100 then
-        response.headers, response.error = Private.receive_headers(sock, {})
-        if response.error then return response end
-        response.code, response.status, response.error = 
-            Private.receive_status(sock)
-        if response.error then return response end
+    respt.code, respt.status, respt.error = receive_status(sock)
+    if respt.error then return respt end
+    -- deal with continue 100 
+    -- servers should not send them, but they might
+    if respt.code == 100 then
+        respt.headers, respt.error = receive_headers(sock, {})
+        if respt.error then return respt end
+        respt.code, respt.status, respt.error = receive_status(sock)
+        if respt.error then return respt end
     end
     -- receive all headers
-    response.headers, response.error = Private.receive_headers(sock, {})
-    if response.error then return response end
+    respt.headers, respt.error = receive_headers(sock, {})
+    if respt.error then return respt end
     -- decide what to do based on request and response parameters
-    if Private.should_redirect(request, response) then
-        Private.drop_body(sock, response.headers)
+    if should_redirect(reqt, respt) then
+        -- drop the body
+        receive_body(sock, respt.headers, function (c, e) return 1 end)
+        -- we are done with this connection
         sock:close()
-        return Private.redirect(request, response)
-    elseif Private.should_authorize(request, parsed, response) then
-        Private.drop_body(sock, response.headers)
+        return redirect(reqt, respt)
+    elseif should_authorize(reqt, parsed, respt) then
+        -- drop the body
+        receive_body(sock, respt.headers, function (c, e) return 1 end)
+        -- we are done with this connection
         sock:close()
-        return Private.authorize(request, parsed, response)
-    elseif Private.has_body(request, response) then
-        response.error = Private.receive_body(sock, response.headers,
-            response.body_cb)
-        if response.error then return response end
+        return authorize(reqt, parsed, respt)
+    elseif should_receive_body(reqt, respt) then
+        respt.error = receive_body(sock, respt.headers, respt.body_cb)
+        if respt.error then return respt end
         sock:close()
-        return response
+        return respt
     end
     sock:close()
-    return response
+    return respt
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 -- Sends a HTTP request and retrieves the server reply
 -- Input
---   request: a table with the following fields
+--   reqt: a table with the following fields
 --     method: "GET", "PUT", "POST" etc (defaults to "GET")
 --     url: request URL, i.e. the document to be retrieved
 --     user, password: authentication information
@@ -608,22 +608,22 @@ end
 --     body: request message body as a string, or nil if none
 --     stay: should we refrain from following a server redirect message?
 -- Returns
---   response: a table with the following fields:
+--   respt: a table with the following fields:
 --     body: response message body, or nil if failed
 --     headers: response header fields, or nil if failed
 --     status: server response status line, or nil if failed
 --     code: server response status code, or nil if failed
 --     error: error message if any
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Public.request(request)
-    local response = {}
-    request.body_cb = socket.callback.send_string(request.body) 
+function request(reqt)
+    local respt = {}
+    reqt.body_cb = socket.callback.send_string(reqt.body) 
     local concat = socket.concat.create()
-    response.body_cb = socket.callback.receive_concat(concat)
-    response = Public.request_cb(request, response)
-    response.body = concat:getresult()
-    response.body_cb = nil
-    return response
+    respt.body_cb = socket.callback.receive_concat(concat)
+    respt = request_cb(reqt, respt)
+    respt.body = concat:getresult()
+    respt.body_cb = nil
+    return respt
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -639,12 +639,11 @@ end
 --   code: server response status code, or nil if failed
 --   error: error message if any
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Public.get(url_or_request)
-    local request = Private.build_request(url_or_request)
-    request.method = "GET"
-    local response = Public.request(request)
-    return response.body, response.headers, 
-        response.code, response.error
+function get(url_or_request)
+    local reqt = build_request(url_or_request)
+    reqt.method = "GET"
+    local respt = request(reqt)
+    return respt.body, respt.headers, respt.code, respt.error
 end
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -662,11 +661,14 @@ end
 --   code: server response status code, or nil if failed
 --   error: error message, or nil if successfull
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-function Public.post(url_or_request, body)
-    local request = Private.build_request(url_or_request)
-    request.method = "POST"
-    request.body = request.body or body
-    local response = Public.request(request)
-    return response.body, response.headers, 
-        response.code, response.error
+function post(url_or_request, body)
+    local reqt = build_request(url_or_request)
+    reqt.method = "POST"
+    reqt.body = reqt.body or body
+    reqt.headers = reqt.headers or 
+        { ["content-length"] = string.len(reqt.body) }
+    local respt = request(reqt)
+    return respt.body, respt.headers, respt.code, respt.error
 end
+
+return http
diff --git a/src/socket.h b/src/socket.h
index c7db5f2..cea9e0d 100644
--- a/src/socket.h
+++ b/src/socket.h
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ int sock_accept(p_sock ps, p_sock pa, SA *addr, socklen_t *addr_len,
 const char *sock_connect(p_sock ps, SA *addr, socklen_t addr_len); 
 const char *sock_bind(p_sock ps, SA *addr, socklen_t addr_len); 
 void sock_listen(p_sock ps, int backlog);
+void sock_shutdown(p_sock ps, int how); 
 int sock_send(p_sock ps, const char *data, size_t count, 
         size_t *sent, int timeout);
 int sock_recv(p_sock ps, char *data, size_t count, 
diff --git a/src/tcp.c b/src/tcp.c
index d68db08..afa0477 100644
--- a/src/tcp.c
+++ b/src/tcp.c
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ static int meth_bind(lua_State *L);
 static int meth_send(lua_State *L);
 static int meth_getsockname(lua_State *L);
 static int meth_getpeername(lua_State *L);
+static int meth_shutdown(lua_State *L);
 static int meth_receive(lua_State *L);
 static int meth_accept(lua_State *L);
 static int meth_close(lua_State *L);
@@ -49,6 +50,7 @@ static luaL_reg tcp[] = {
     {"getsockname", meth_getsockname},
     {"settimeout",  meth_settimeout},
     {"close",       meth_close},
+    {"shutdown",    meth_shutdown},
     {"setoption",   meth_setoption},
     {"__gc",        meth_close},
     {"fd",          meth_fd},
@@ -201,12 +203,12 @@ static int meth_accept(lua_State *L)
     int err = IO_ERROR;
     p_tcp server = (p_tcp) aux_checkclass(L, "tcp{server}", 1);
     p_tm tm = &server->tm;
-    p_tcp client = lua_newuserdata(L, sizeof(t_tcp));
-    aux_setclass(L, "tcp{client}", -1);
+    p_tcp client;
+    t_sock sock;
     tm_markstart(tm);
     /* loop until connection accepted or timeout happens */
     while (err != IO_DONE) { 
-        err = sock_accept(&server->sock, &client->sock, 
+        err = sock_accept(&server->sock, &sock, 
             (SA *) &addr, &addr_len, tm_getfailure(tm));
         if (err == IO_CLOSED || (err == IO_TIMEOUT && !tm_getfailure(tm))) {
             lua_pushnil(L); 
@@ -214,6 +216,9 @@ static int meth_accept(lua_State *L)
             return 2;
         }
     }
+    client = lua_newuserdata(L, sizeof(t_tcp));
+    aux_setclass(L, "tcp{client}", -1);
+    client->sock = sock;
     /* initialize remaining structure fields */
     io_init(&client->io, (p_send) sock_send, (p_recv) sock_recv, &client->sock);
     tm_init(&client->tm, -1, -1);
@@ -272,6 +277,33 @@ static int meth_close(lua_State *L)
     return 0;
 }
 
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*\
+* Shuts the connection down
+\*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
+static int meth_shutdown(lua_State *L)
+{
+    p_tcp tcp = (p_tcp) aux_checkgroup(L, "tcp{any}", 1);
+    const char *how = luaL_optstring(L, 2, "both");
+    switch (how[0]) {
+        case 'b':
+            if (strcmp(how, "both")) goto error;
+            sock_shutdown(&tcp->sock, 2);
+            break;
+        case 's':
+            if (strcmp(how, "send")) goto error;
+            sock_shutdown(&tcp->sock, 1);
+            break;
+        case 'r':
+            if (strcmp(how, "receive")) goto error;
+            sock_shutdown(&tcp->sock, 0);
+            break;
+    }
+    return 0;
+error:
+    luaL_argerror(L, 2, "invalid shutdown method");
+    return 0;
+}
+
 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*\
 * Just call inet methods
 \*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
diff --git a/src/usocket.c b/src/usocket.c
index b120d7b..f2d9f01 100644
--- a/src/usocket.c
+++ b/src/usocket.c
@@ -72,6 +72,14 @@ void sock_listen(p_sock ps, int backlog)
     listen(*ps, backlog);
 }
 
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*\
+* 
+\*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
+void sock_shutdown(p_sock ps, int how)
+{
+    shutdown(*ps, how);
+}
+
 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*\
 * Accept with timeout
 \*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
@@ -100,39 +108,47 @@ int sock_accept(p_sock ps, p_sock pa, SA *addr, socklen_t *addr_len,
 
 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*\
 * Send with timeout
+* Here we exchanged the order of the calls to write and select
+* The idea is that the outer loop (whoever is calling sock_send)
+* will call the function again if we didn't time out, so we can
+* call write and then select only if it fails.
+* Should speed things up!
+* We are also treating EINTR and EPIPE errors.
 \*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
 int sock_send(p_sock ps, const char *data, size_t count, size_t *sent, 
         int timeout)
 {
     t_sock sock = *ps;
-    struct timeval tv;
-    fd_set fds;
-    ssize_t put = 0;
-    int err;
+    ssize_t put;
     int ret;
+    /* avoid making system calls on closed sockets */
     if (sock == SOCK_INVALID) return IO_CLOSED;
-    tv.tv_sec = timeout / 1000;
-    tv.tv_usec = (timeout % 1000) * 1000;
-    FD_ZERO(&fds);
-    FD_SET(sock, &fds);
-    ret = select(sock+1, NULL, &fds, NULL, timeout >= 0 ? &tv : NULL);
-    if (ret > 0) {
-       put = write(sock, data, count);  
-       if (put <= 0) {
-           err = IO_CLOSED;
-#ifdef __CYGWIN__
-           /* this is for CYGWIN, which is like Unix but has Win32 bugs */
-           if (errno == EWOULDBLOCK) err = IO_DONE;
-#endif
-           *sent = 0;
-       } else {
-           *sent = put;
-           err = IO_DONE;
-       }
-       return err;
-    } else {
+    /* make sure we repeat in case the call was interrupted */
+    do put = write(sock, data, count);  
+    while (put <= 0 && errno == EINTR);
+    /* deal with failure */
+    if (put <= 0) {
+        /* in any case, nothing has been sent */
         *sent = 0;
-        return IO_TIMEOUT;
+        /* run select to avoid busy wait */
+        if (errno != EPIPE) {
+            struct timeval tv;
+            fd_set fds;
+            tv.tv_sec = timeout / 1000;
+            tv.tv_usec = (timeout % 1000) * 1000;
+            FD_ZERO(&fds);
+            FD_SET(sock, &fds);
+            ret = select(sock+1, NULL, &fds, NULL, timeout >= 0 ? &tv : NULL);
+            /* tell the caller to call us again because there is more data */
+            if (ret > 0) return IO_DONE;
+            /* tell the caller there was no data before timeout */
+            else return IO_TIMEOUT;
+        /* here we know the connection has been closed */
+        } else return IO_CLOSED; 
+    /* here we sent successfully sent something */
+    } else {
+        *sent = put;
+        return IO_DONE;
     }
 }
 
@@ -176,32 +192,36 @@ int sock_sendto(p_sock ps, const char *data, size_t count, size_t *sent,
 
 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*\
 * Receive with timeout
+* Here we exchanged the order of the calls to write and select
+* The idea is that the outer loop (whoever is calling sock_send)
+* will call the function again if we didn't time out, so we can
+* call write and then select only if it fails.
+* Should speed things up!
+* We are also treating EINTR errors.
 \*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
 int sock_recv(p_sock ps, char *data, size_t count, size_t *got, int timeout)
 {
     t_sock sock = *ps;
-    struct timeval tv;
-    fd_set fds;
-    int ret;
-    ssize_t taken = 0;
+    ssize_t taken;
     if (sock == SOCK_INVALID) return IO_CLOSED;
-    tv.tv_sec = timeout / 1000;
-    tv.tv_usec = (timeout % 1000) * 1000;
-    FD_ZERO(&fds);
-    FD_SET(sock, &fds);
-    ret = select(sock+1, &fds, NULL, NULL, timeout >= 0 ? &tv : NULL);
-    if (ret > 0) {
-       taken = read(sock, data, count);  
-       if (taken <= 0) {
-           *got = 0;
-           return IO_CLOSED;
-       } else {
-           *got = taken;
-           return IO_DONE;
-       }
-    } else {
+    do taken = read(sock, data, count);  
+    while (taken <= 0 && errno == EINTR);
+    if (taken <= 0) {
+        struct timeval tv;
+        fd_set fds;
+        int ret;
         *got = 0;
-        return IO_TIMEOUT;
+        if (taken == 0) return IO_CLOSED;
+        tv.tv_sec = timeout / 1000;
+        tv.tv_usec = (timeout % 1000) * 1000;
+        FD_ZERO(&fds);
+        FD_SET(sock, &fds);
+        ret = select(sock+1, &fds, NULL, NULL, timeout >= 0 ? &tv : NULL);
+        if (ret > 0) return IO_DONE;
+        else return IO_TIMEOUT;
+    } else {
+        *got = taken;
+        return IO_DONE;
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/src/wsocket.c b/src/wsocket.c
index 1ba28b6..59d88df 100644
--- a/src/wsocket.c
+++ b/src/wsocket.c
@@ -35,6 +35,14 @@ void sock_destroy(p_sock ps)
     }
 }
 
+/*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*\
+* 
+\*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
+void sock_shutdown(p_sock ps, int how)
+{
+    shutdown(*ps, how);
+}
+
 /*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*\
 * Creates and sets up a socket
 \*-------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
diff --git a/test/auth/.htaccess b/test/auth/.htaccess
index b9f100e..31e1123 100644
--- a/test/auth/.htaccess
+++ b/test/auth/.htaccess
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 AuthName "Test Realm"
 AuthType Basic
-AuthUserFile /home/diego/tec/luasocket/test/auth/.htpasswd
+AuthUserFile /Users/diego/tec/luasocket/test/auth/.htpasswd
 require valid-user
diff --git a/test/httptest.lua b/test/httptest.lua
index 030974c..9d9fa25 100644
--- a/test/httptest.lua
+++ b/test/httptest.lua
@@ -1,8 +1,8 @@
 -- needs Alias from /home/c/diego/tec/luasocket/test to 
--- /luasocket-test
+-- "/luasocket-test" and "/luasocket-test/"
 -- needs ScriptAlias from /home/c/diego/tec/luasocket/test/cgi
--- to /luasocket-test-cgi
--- needs AllowOverride AuthConfig on /home/c/diego/tec/luasocket/test/auth
+-- to "/luasocket-test-cgi" and "/luasocket-test-cgi/"
+-- needs "AllowOverride AuthConfig" on /home/c/diego/tec/luasocket/test/auth
 local similar = function(s1, s2)
 	return string.lower(string.gsub(s1 or "", "%s", "")) == 
         string.lower(string.gsub(s2 or "", "%s", ""))
@@ -31,12 +31,18 @@ local check_request = function(request, expect, ignore)
 	local response = socket.http.request(request)
 	for i,v in response do
 		if not ignore[i] then
-			if v ~= expect[i] then fail(i .. " differs!") end
+			if v ~= expect[i] then 
+                if string.len(v) < 80 then print(v) end
+                fail(i .. " differs!") 
+            end
 		end
 	end
 	for i,v in expect do
 		if not ignore[i] then
-			if v ~= response[i] then fail(i .. " differs!") end
+			if v ~= response[i] then 
+                if string.len(v) < 80 then print(v) end
+                fail(i .. " differs!") 
+            end
 		end
 	end
 	print("ok")
@@ -47,15 +53,18 @@ local host, request, response, ignore, expect, index, prefix, cgiprefix
 local t = socket.time()
 
 host = host or "localhost"
-prefix = prefix or "/luasocket"
-cgiprefix = cgiprefix or "/luasocket/cgi"
+prefix = prefix or "/luasocket-test"
+cgiprefix = cgiprefix or "/luasocket-test-cgi"
 index = readfile("test/index.html")
 
 io.write("testing request uri correctness: ")
 local forth = cgiprefix .. "/request-uri?" .. "this+is+the+query+string"
-local back = socket.http.get("http://" .. host .. forth)
+local back, h, c, e = socket.http.get("http://" .. host .. forth)
 if similar(back, forth) then print("ok")
-else fail("failed!") end
+else 
+print(h, c, e)
+fail()
+end
 
 io.write("testing query string correctness: ")
 forth = "this+is+the+query+string"
@@ -77,6 +86,38 @@ ignore = {
 }
 check_request(request, expect, ignore)
 
+socket.http.get("http://" .. host .. prefix .. "/lixo.html")
+
+io.write("testing post method: ")
+-- wanted to test chunked post, but apache doesn't support it...
+request = {
+	url = "http://" .. host .. cgiprefix .. "/cat",
+	method = "POST",
+	body = index,
+    -- remove content-length header to send chunked body
+    headers = { ["content-length"] = string.len(index) }
+}
+expect = {
+	body = index,
+	code = 200
+}
+ignore = {
+	status = 1,
+	headers = 1
+}
+check_request(request, expect, ignore)
+
+io.write("testing simple post function: ")
+body = socket.http.post("http://" .. host .. cgiprefix .. "/cat", index)
+check(body == index)
+
+io.write("testing simple post function with table args: ")
+body = socket.http.post {
+	url = "http://" .. host .. cgiprefix .. "/cat",
+	body = index
+}
+check(body == index)
+
 io.write("testing http redirection: ")
 request = {
 	url = "http://" .. host .. prefix
@@ -175,7 +216,8 @@ io.write("testing manual basic auth: ")
 request = {
 	url = "http://" .. host .. prefix .. "/auth/index.html",
 	headers = {
-		authorization = "Basic " .. socket.code.base64("luasocket:password")
+		authorization = "Basic " .. 
+            socket.code.base64.encode("luasocket:password")
 	}
 }
 expect = {
@@ -246,22 +288,6 @@ ignore = {
 }
 check_request(request, expect, ignore)
 
-io.write("testing post method: ")
-request = {
-	url = "http://" .. host .. cgiprefix .. "/cat",
-	method = "POST",
-	body = index
-}
-expect = {
-	body = index,
-	code = 200
-}
-ignore = {
-	status = 1,
-	headers = 1
-}
-check_request(request, expect, ignore)
-
 io.write("testing wrong scheme: ")
 request = {
 	url = "wrong://" .. host .. cgiprefix .. "/cat",
@@ -287,17 +313,6 @@ body = socket.http.get {
 }
 check(body == index)
 
-io.write("testing simple post function: ")
-body = socket.http.post("http://" .. host .. cgiprefix .. "/cat", index)
-check(body == index)
-
-io.write("testing simple post function with table args: ")
-body = socket.http.post {
-	url = "http://" .. host .. cgiprefix .. "/cat",
-	body = index
-}
-check(body == index)
-
 io.write("testing HEAD method: ")
 response = socket.http.request {
   method = "HEAD",
diff --git a/test/testclnt.lua b/test/testclnt.lua
index 3f217bd..2420711 100644
--- a/test/testclnt.lua
+++ b/test/testclnt.lua
@@ -84,19 +84,19 @@ function reconnect()
     remote [[
         if data then data:close() data = nil end
         data = server:accept()
-        -- data:setoption("nodelay", true)
+        data:setoption("tcp-nodelay", true)
     ]]
     data, err = socket.connect(host, port)
     if not data then fail(err) 
     else pass("connected!") end
-    -- data:setoption("nodelay", true)
+    data:setoption("tcp-nodelay", true)
 end
 
 pass("attempting control connection...")
 control, err = socket.connect(host, port)
 if err then fail(err)
 else pass("connected!") end
--- control:setoption("nodelay", true)
+control:setoption("tcp-nodelay", true)
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
 test("method registration")