CertificateFactory

This class defines the functionality of a certificate factory, which is used to generate certificate, certification path ({@code CertPath}) and certificate revocation list (CRL) objects from their encodings.

For encodings consisting of multiple certificates, use {@code generateCertificates} when you want to parse a collection of possibly unrelated certificates. Otherwise, use {@code generateCertPath} when you want to generate a {@code CertPath} (a certificate chain) and subsequently validate it with a {@code CertPathValidator}.

A certificate factory for X.509 must return certificates that are an instance of {@code java.security.cert.X509Certificate}, and CRLs that are an instance of {@code java.security.cert.X509CRL}.

The following example reads a file with Base64 encoded certificates, which are each bounded at the beginning by -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----, and bounded at the end by -----END CERTIFICATE-----. We convert the {@code FileInputStream} (which does not support {@code mark} and {@code reset}) to a {@code BufferedInputStream} (which supports those methods), so that each call to {@code generateCertificate} consumes only one certificate, and the read position of the input stream is positioned to the next certificate in the file:

<pre>{@code FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(filename); BufferedInputStream bis = new BufferedInputStream(fis);

CertificateFactory cf = CertificateFactory.getInstance("X.509");

while (bis.available() > 0) { Certificate cert = cf.generateCertificate(bis); System.out.println(cert.toString()); } }</pre>

The following example parses a PKCS#7-formatted certificate reply stored in a file and extracts all the certificates from it:

<pre> FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(filename); CertificateFactory cf = CertificateFactory.getInstance("X.509"); Collection c = cf.generateCertificates(fis); Iterator i = c.iterator(); while (i.hasNext()) { Certificate cert = (Certificate)i.next(); System.out.println(cert); } </pre>

Every implementation of the Java platform is required to support the following standard {@code CertificateFactory} type: <ul> <li>{@code X.509}</li> </ul> and the following standard {@code CertPath} encodings: <ul> <li>{@code PKCS7}</li> <li>{@code PkiPath}</li> </ul> The type and encodings are described in the <a href= "{@docRoot}/../technotes/guides/security/StandardNames.html#CertificateFactory"> CertificateFactory section</a> and the <a href= "{@docRoot}/../technotes/guides/security/StandardNames.html#CertPathEncodings"> CertPath Encodings section</a> of the Java Cryptography Architecture Standard Algorithm Name Documentation. Consult the release documentation for your implementation to see if any other types or encodings are supported.

@author Hemma Prafullchandra @author Jan Luehe @author Sean Mullan

@see Certificate @see X509Certificate @see CertPath @see CRL @see X509CRL

@since 1.2

class CertificateFactory {

this(CertificateFactorySpi certFacSpi, Provider provider, string type);

static CertificateFactory getInstance(string type);

static CertificateFactorySpi getFactorySpi(string type);

Provider getProvider();

string getType();

Certificate generateCertificate(InputStream inStream);

Iterator!string getCertPathEncodings();

CertPath generateCertPath(InputStream inStream);

CertPath generateCertPath(InputStream inStream, string encoding);

CertPath generateCertPath(List!Certificate certificates);

Collection!Certificate generateCertificates(InputStream inStream);

CRL generateCRL(InputStream inStream);

Collection!CRL generateCRLs(InputStream inStream);

}

Constructors

this this(CertificateFactorySpi certFacSpi, Provider provider, string type): Creates a CertificateFactory object of the given type, and encapsulates the given provider implementation (SPI object) in it.

Members

Functions

generateCRL CRL generateCRL(InputStream inStream): Generates a certificate revocation list (CRL) object and initializes it with the data read from the input stream {@code inStream}.
generateCRLs Collection!CRL generateCRLs(InputStream inStream): Returns a (possibly empty) collection view of the CRLs read from the given input stream {@code inStream}.
generateCertPath CertPath generateCertPath(InputStream inStream): Generates a {@code CertPath} object and initializes it with the data read from the {@code InputStream} inStream. The data is assumed to be in the default encoding. The name of the default encoding is the first element of the {@code Iterator} returned by the {@link #getCertPathEncodings getCertPathEncodings} method.
generateCertPath CertPath generateCertPath(InputStream inStream, string encoding): Generates a {@code CertPath} object and initializes it with the data read from the {@code InputStream} inStream. The data is assumed to be in the specified encoding. See the CertPath Encodings section in the <a href= "{@docRoot}/../technotes/guides/security/StandardNames.html#CertPathEncodings"> Java Cryptography Architecture Standard Algorithm Name Documentation</a> for information about standard encoding names and their formats.
generateCertPath CertPath generateCertPath(List!Certificate certificates): Generates a {@code CertPath} object and initializes it with a {@code List} of {@code Certificate}s. The certificates supplied must be of a type supported by the {@code CertificateFactory}. They will be copied out of the supplied {@code List} object.
generateCertificate Certificate generateCertificate(InputStream inStream): Generates a certificate object and initializes it with the data read from the input stream {@code inStream}.
generateCertificates Collection!Certificate generateCertificates(InputStream inStream): Returns a (possibly empty) collection view of the certificates read from the given input stream {@code inStream}.
getCertPathEncodings Iterator!string getCertPathEncodings(): Returns an iteration of the {@code CertPath} encodings supported by this certificate factory, with the default encoding first. See the CertPath Encodings section in the <a href= "{@docRoot}/../technotes/guides/security/StandardNames.html#CertPathEncodings"> Java Cryptography Architecture Standard Algorithm Name Documentation</a> for information about standard encoding names and their formats. Attempts to modify the returned {@code Iterator} via its {@code remove} method result in an {@code UnsupportedOperationException}.
getProvider Provider getProvider(): Returns the provider of this certificate factory.
getType string getType(): Returns the name of the certificate type associated with this certificate factory.

Static functions

getFactorySpi CertificateFactorySpi getFactorySpi(string type): Undocumented in source. Be warned that the author may not have intended to support it.
getInstance CertificateFactory getInstance(string type): Returns a certificate factory object that implements the specified certificate type.

CertificateFactory

Constructors

Members

Functions

Static functions

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