@showfuncdesc{gnutls_error_is_fatal}
-In DTLS it is advisable to use the extended receive
-function shown below, because it allows the extraction
-of the sequence number. This is required in DTLS because
-messages may arrive out of order.
+Although, in the TLS protocol the receive function can be called
+at any time, when DTLS is used the GnuTLS receive functions must be
+called once a message is available for reading, even if no data are
+expected. This is because in DTLS various (internal) actions
+may be required due to retransmission timers. Moreover,
+an extended receive function is shown below, which allows the extraction
+of the message's sequence number. Due to the unreliable nature of the
+protocol, this field allows distinguishing out-of-order messages.
@showfuncdesc{gnutls_record_recv_seq}
or send data. In @acronym{DTLS} however, due to re-transmission
timers used in the handshake out-of-order handshake data might
be received for some time (maximum 60 seconds) after the handshake
-process is finished. For this reason programs using @acronym{DTLS}
-should call the receive functions for every packet received by
-the peer, even if no data were expected.
+process is finished.
The functions to access the record protocol are limited to send
and receive functions, which might, given