class Net::ReadLimitExceeded

ReadLimitExceeded, a subclass of ProtocolError, is raised if the terminator is not found within the byte limit given to Net::BufferedIO#readuntil.

The limit is the largest result readuntil may return, counting the terminator itself, so a limit of 4 accepts “abc\n” and rejects “abcd\n”. Unlike the limit of IO#gets it never truncates a result to fit. Either the whole thing comes back or this is raised, except under ignore_eof, which still returns what was buffered when the stream ended. The count is in bytes while the IO hands back binary strings, which every real one does.

It bounds one call, not a connection. The unconsumed buffer can still run one BUFSIZE past the limit, and a peer sending endless short lines is not bounded at all.

Nothing is consumed when this is raised, so the usual response is to close the connection rather than read on under a wider limit.