Interface Key

All Superinterfaces:
Serializable
All Known Subinterfaces:
AsymmetricKey,DHPrivateKey,DHPublicKey,DSAPrivateKey,DSAPublicKey,ECPrivateKey,ECPublicKey,EdECPrivateKey,EdECPublicKey,PBEKey,PrivateKey,PublicKey,RSAMultiPrimePrivateCrtKey,RSAPrivateCrtKey,RSAPrivateKey,RSAPublicKey,SecretKey,XECPrivateKey,XECPublicKey
All Known Implementing Classes:
EncryptionKey,KerberosKey,SecretKeySpec
public interfaceKeyextendsSerializable
TheKey interface is the top-level interface for all keys. It defines the functionality shared by allKey objects. All keys have three characteristics:
  • An Algorithm

    This is the key algorithm for that key. The key algorithm is usually an encryption or asymmetric operation algorithm (such as DSA or RSA), which will work with those algorithms and with related algorithms (such as MD5 with RSA, SHA-1 with RSA, Raw DSA, etc.) The name of the algorithm of a key is obtained using thegetAlgorithm method.

  • An Encoded Form

    This is an external encoded form for the key used when a standard representation of the key is needed outside the Java Virtual Machine, as when transmitting the key to some other party. The key is encoded according to a standard format (such as X.509SubjectPublicKeyInfo or PKCS#8), and is returned using thegetEncoded method. Note: The syntax of the ASN.1 typeSubjectPublicKeyInfo is defined as follows:

     SubjectPublicKeyInfo ::= SEQUENCE {   algorithm AlgorithmIdentifier,   subjectPublicKey BIT STRING } AlgorithmIdentifier ::= SEQUENCE {   algorithm OBJECT IDENTIFIER,   parameters ANY DEFINED BY algorithm OPTIONAL }
    For more information, seeRFC 5280: Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificate and CRL Profile.
  • A Format

    This is the name of the format of the encoded key. It is returned by thegetFormat method.

Keys are generally obtained through key generators, certificates, key stores or other classes used to manage keys. Keys may also be obtained from key specifications (transparent representations of the underlying key material) through the use of a key factory (seeKeyFactory).

A Key should use KeyRep as its serialized representation. Note that a serialized Key may contain sensitive information which should not be exposed in untrusted environments. See the Security Appendix of theJava Object Serialization Specification for more information.

Since:
1.1
External Specifications
See Also:

  • Field Summary

    Fields
    Modifier and Type
    Field
    Description
    static final long
    Deprecated.
    AserialVersionUID field in an interface is ineffectual.

  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    Returns the standard algorithm name for this key.
    byte[]
    Returns the key in its primary encoding format, ornull if this key does not support encoding.
    Returns the name of the primary encoding format of this key, ornull if this key does not support encoding.

  • Field Details

    • serialVersionUID

      @Deprecatedstatic final long serialVersionUID
      Deprecated.
      AserialVersionUID field in an interface is ineffectual. Do not use; no replacement.
      The class fingerprint that is set to indicate serialization compatibility with a previous version of the class.
      See Also:

  • Method Details

    • getAlgorithm

      String getAlgorithm()
      Returns the standard algorithm name for this key. For example, "DSA" would indicate that this key is a DSA key. See the key related sections (KeyFactory, KeyGenerator, KeyPairGenerator, and SecretKeyFactory) in the Java Security Standard Algorithm Names Specification for information about standard key algorithm names.
      Returns:
      the name of the algorithm associated with this key.
      External Specifications

    • getFormat

      String getFormat()
      Returns the name of the primary encoding format of this key, ornull if this key does not support encoding. The primary encoding format is named in terms of the appropriate ASN.1 data format, if an ASN.1 specification for this key exists. For example, the name of the ASN.1 data format for public keys isSubjectPublicKeyInfo, as defined by the X.509 standard; in this case, the returned format is"X.509". Similarly, the name of the ASN.1 data format for private keys isPrivateKeyInfo, as defined by the PKCS #8 standard; in this case, the returned format is"PKCS#8".
      Returns:
      the primary encoding format of the key.

    • getEncoded

      byte[] getEncoded()
      Returns the key in its primary encoding format, ornull if this key does not support encoding.
      Returns:
      the encoded key, ornull if the key does not support encoding.