java.security.cert
Class Certificate

java.lang.Object
  java.security.cert.Certificate

All Implemented Interfaces:

Serializable

Direct Known Subclasses:

X509Certificate

public abstract class Certificate
extends Object
implements Serializable

Abstract class to represent identity certificates. It represents a way to verify the binding of a Principal and its public key. Examples are X.509, PGP, and SDSI.

See Also:

Serialized Form

Nested Class Summary

protected static class

Certificate.CertificateRep The alternate Serializable class to be used for serialization and deserialization of Certificate objects.

Constructor Summary

protected

Certificate(String type) Creates a new Certificate with the specified type.

Method Summary

boolean	equals(Object other) Compares the argument to the certificate, and returns true if they represent the same object using a class specific comparison.
abstract byte[]	getEncoded() Returns the encoded representation for this certificate.
abstract PublicKey	getPublicKey() Returns the public key corresponding to this certificate.
String	getType() Returns the certificate type.
int	hashCode() Returns an integer hash code for the certificate.
abstract String	toString() Returns a string containing a concise, human-readable description of the certificate.
abstract void	verify(PublicKey key) Verifies that this certificate was signed with the given public key.
abstract void	verify(PublicKey key, String sigProvider) Verifies that this certificate was signed with the given public key.
protected Object	writeReplace() Returns an alternate object to be serialized.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

Constructor Detail

Certificate

protected Certificate(String type)

Creates a new Certificate with the specified type.

Parameters:

type - the certificate type.

Method Detail

getType

public final String getType()

Returns the certificate type.

Returns:

the certificate type.

equals

public boolean equals(Object other)

Compares the argument to the certificate, and returns true if they represent the same object using a class specific comparison. The implementation in Object returns true only if the argument is the exact same object as the callee (==).

Overrides:

equals in class Object

Parameters:

other - the object to compare with this object.

Returns:

true if the object is the same as this object, false if it is different from this object.

See Also:

hashCode()

hashCode

public int hashCode()

Returns an integer hash code for the certificate. Any two objects which return true when passed to equals must return the same value for this method.

Overrides:

hashCode in class Object

Returns:

the certificate's hash

See Also:

equals(java.lang.Object)

getEncoded

public abstract byte[] getEncoded()
                           throws CertificateEncodingException

Returns the encoded representation for this certificate.

Returns:

the encoded representation for this certificate.

Throws:

CertificateEncodingException - if the encoding fails.

verify

public abstract void verify(PublicKey key)
                     throws CertificateException,
                            NoSuchAlgorithmException,
                            InvalidKeyException,
                            NoSuchProviderException,
                            SignatureException

Verifies that this certificate was signed with the given public key.

Parameters:

key - PublicKey public key for which verification should be performed.

Throws:

CertificateException - if encoding errors are detected.

NoSuchAlgorithmException - if an unsupported algorithm is detected.

InvalidKeyException - if an invalid key is detected.

NoSuchProviderException - if there is no default provider.

SignatureException - if signature errors are detected.

verify

public abstract void verify(PublicKey key,
                            String sigProvider)
                     throws CertificateException,
                            NoSuchAlgorithmException,
                            InvalidKeyException,
                            NoSuchProviderException,
                            SignatureException

Verifies that this certificate was signed with the given public key. It Uses the signature algorithm given by the provider.

Parameters:

key - PublicKey public key for which verification should be performed.

sigProvider - String the name of the signature provider.

Throws:

CertificateException - if encoding errors are detected.

NoSuchAlgorithmException - if an unsupported algorithm is detected.

InvalidKeyException - if an invalid key is detected.

NoSuchProviderException - if the specified provider does not exists.

SignatureException - if signature errors are detected.

toString

public abstract String toString()

Returns a string containing a concise, human-readable description of the certificate.

Overrides:

toString in class Object

Returns:

a printable representation for the certificate.

getPublicKey

public abstract PublicKey getPublicKey()

Returns the public key corresponding to this certificate.

Returns:

the public key corresponding to this certificate.

writeReplace

protected Object writeReplace()
                       throws ObjectStreamException

Returns an alternate object to be serialized.

Returns:

the object to serialize.

Throws:

ObjectStreamException - if the creation of the alternate object fails.