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Java 2 Platform SE v1.3.1: Interface Key
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JavaTM 2 Platform
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java.security
Interface Key

All Superinterfaces:
Serializable
All Known Subinterfaces:
DSAPrivateKey, DSAPublicKey, PrivateKey, PublicKey, RSAPrivateCrtKey, RSAPrivateKey, RSAPublicKey
public interface Key
extends Serializable

The Key interface is the top-level interface for all keys. It defines the functionality shared by all key 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 the getAlgorithm 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.509 or PKCS#8), and is returned using the getEncoded method.

  • A Format

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

Keys are generally obtained through key generators, certificates, or various Identity 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 (see KeyFactory).

See Also:
PublicKey, PrivateKey, KeyPair, KeyPairGenerator, KeyFactory, KeySpec, Identity, Signer

Field Summary
static long serialVersionUID
          The class fingerprint that is set to indicate serialization compatibility with a previous version of the class.
 
Method Summary
 String getAlgorithm()
          Returns the standard algorithm name for this key.
 byte[] getEncoded()
          Returns the key in its primary encoding format, or null if this key does not support encoding.
 String getFormat()
          Returns the name of the primary encoding format of this key, or null if this key does not support encoding.
 

Field Detail

serialVersionUID

public static final long serialVersionUID
The class fingerprint that is set to indicate serialization compatibility with a previous version of the class.
Method Detail

getAlgorithm

public String getAlgorithm()
Returns the standard algorithm name for this key. For example, "DSA" would indicate that this key is a DSA key. See Appendix A in the Java Cryptography Architecture API Specification & Reference for information about standard algorithm names.
Returns:
the name of the algorithm associated with this key.

getFormat

public String getFormat()
Returns the name of the primary encoding format of this key, or null 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 is SubjectPublicKeyInfo, 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 is PrivateKeyInfo, 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

public byte[] getEncoded()
Returns the key in its primary encoding format, or null if this key does not support encoding.
Returns:
the encoded key, or null if the key does not support encoding.
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For further API reference and developer documentation, see Java 2 SDK SE Developer Documentation. That documentation contains more detailed, developer-targeted descriptions, with conceptual overviews, definitions of terms, workarounds, and working code examples.

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