java.security.cert

Class CertificateFactory

public class CertificateFactory extends Object

This class implements the CertificateFactory class interface used to generate certificates, certificate revocation lists (CRLs), and certificate paths objects from their encoded forms.

Since: 1.2

UNKNOWN: Fully compatible with JDK 1.4.

Constructor Summary
protected	CertificateFactory(CertificateFactorySpi certFacSpi, Provider provider, String type) Creates an instance of CertificateFactory.

Method Summary
Certificate	generateCertificate(InputStream inStream) Generates a Certificate from the encoded data read from an InputStream.
Collection<? extends Certificate>	generateCertificates(InputStream inStream) Returns a collection of certificates that were read from the input stream.
CertPath	generateCertPath(InputStream inStream) Generate a {@link CertPath} and initialize it with data parsed from the input stream.
CertPath	generateCertPath(InputStream inStream, String encoding) Generate a {@link CertPath} and initialize it with data parsed from the input stream, using the specified encoding.
CertPath	generateCertPath(List<? extends Certificate> certificates) Generate a {@link CertPath} and initialize it with the certificates in the {@link java.util.List} argument.
CRL	generateCRL(InputStream inStream) Generates a CRL based on the encoded data read from the InputStream.
Collection<? extends CRL>	generateCRLs(InputStream inStream) Generates CRLs based on the encoded data read from the InputStream.
Iterator<String>	getCertPathEncodings() Returns an Iterator of CertPath encodings supported by this factory, with the default encoding first.
static CertificateFactory	getInstance(String type) Returns an instance of a `CertificateFactory` representing the specified certificate factory type.
static CertificateFactory	getInstance(String type, String provider) Returns an instance of a `CertificateFactory` representing the specified certificate factory type from the named provider.
static CertificateFactory	getInstance(String type, Provider provider) Returns an instance of a `CertificateFactory` representing the specified certificate factory type from the designated provider.
Provider	getProvider() Gets the provider of this implementation.
String	getType() Returns the type of the certificate this factory creates.

Constructor Detail

CertificateFactory

protected CertificateFactory(CertificateFactorySpi certFacSpi, Provider provider, String type)

Creates an instance of CertificateFactory.

Parameters: certFacSpi The underlying CertificateFactory engine. provider The provider of this implementation. type The type of Certificate this factory creates.

Method Detail

generateCertificate

public final Certificate generateCertificate(InputStream inStream)

Generates a Certificate from the encoded data read from an InputStream.

The input stream must contain only one certificate.

If there exists a specialized certificate class for the certificate format handled by the certificate factory then the return Ceritificate should be a typecast of it. Ex: A X.509 CertificateFactory should return X509Certificate.

For X.509 certificates, the certificate in inStream must be DER encoded and supplied in binary or printable (Base64) encoding. If the certificate is in Base64 encoding, it must be bounded by -----BEGINCERTIFICATE-----, and -----END CERTIFICATE-----.

Parameters: inStream An input stream containing the certificate data.

Returns: A certificate initialized from the decoded InputStream data.

Throws: CertificateException If an error occurs decoding the certificate.

generateCertificates

public final Collection<? extends Certificate> generateCertificates(InputStream inStream)

Returns a collection of certificates that were read from the input stream. It may be empty, have only one, or have multiple certificates. For a X.509 certificate factory, the stream may contain a single DER encoded certificate or a PKCS#7 certificate chain. This is a PKCS#7 SignedData object with the most significant field being certificates. If no CRLs are present, then an empty collection is returned.

Parameters: inStream An input stream containing the certificate data.

Returns: A collection of certificates initialized from the decoded InputStream data.

Throws: CertificateException If an error occurs decoding the certificates.

generateCertPath

public final CertPath generateCertPath(InputStream inStream)

Generate a {@link CertPath} and initialize it with data parsed from the input stream. The default encoding of this factory is used.

Parameters: inStream The InputStream containing the CertPath data.

Returns: A CertPath initialized from the input stream data.

Throws: CertificateException If an error occurs decoding the CertPath.

generateCertPath

public final CertPath generateCertPath(InputStream inStream, String encoding)

Generate a {@link CertPath} and initialize it with data parsed from the input stream, using the specified encoding.

Parameters: inStream The InputStream containing the CertPath data. encoding The encoding of the InputStream data.

Returns: A CertPath initialized from the input stream data.

Throws: CertificateException If an error occurs decoding the CertPath.

generateCertPath

public final CertPath generateCertPath(List<? extends Certificate> certificates)

Generate a {@link CertPath} and initialize it with the certificates in the {@link java.util.List} argument.

Parameters: certificates The list of certificates with which to create the CertPath.

Returns: A CertPath initialized from the certificates.

Throws: CertificateException If an error occurs generating the CertPath.

generateCRL

public final CRL generateCRL(InputStream inStream)

Generates a CRL based on the encoded data read from the InputStream.

The input stream must contain only one CRL.

If there exists a specialized CRL class for the CRL format handled by the certificate factory then the return CRL should be a typecast of it. Ex: A X.509 CertificateFactory should return X509CRL.

Parameters: inStream An input stream containing the CRL data.

Returns: A CRL initialized from the decoded InputStream data.

Throws: CRLException If an error occurs decoding the CRL.

generateCRLs

public final Collection<? extends CRL> generateCRLs(InputStream inStream)

Generates CRLs based on the encoded data read from the InputStream.

For a X.509 certificate factory, the stream may contain a single DER encoded CRL or a PKCS#7 CRL set. This is a PKCS#7 SignedData object with the most significant field being crls. If no CRLs are present, then an empty collection is returned.

Parameters: inStream an input stream containing the CRLs.

Returns: a collection of CRLs initialized from the decoded InputStream data.

Throws: CRLException If an error occurs decoding the CRLs.

getCertPathEncodings

public final Iterator<String> getCertPathEncodings()

Returns an Iterator of CertPath encodings supported by this factory, with the default encoding first. The returned Iterator cannot be modified.

Returns: The Iterator of supported encodings.

getInstance

public static final CertificateFactory getInstance(String type)

Returns an instance of a CertificateFactory representing the specified certificate factory type.

Parameters: type The type of certificate factory to create.

Returns: A CertificateFactory of the desired type.

Throws: CertificateException If the type of certificate factory is not implemented by any installed provider. IllegalArgumentException if type is null or is an empty string.

getInstance

public static final CertificateFactory getInstance(String type, String provider)

Returns an instance of a CertificateFactory representing the specified certificate factory type from the named provider.

Parameters: type The type of certificate factory to create. provider The name of the provider to use.

Returns: A CertificateFactory for the desired type.

Throws: CertificateException If the type of certificate is not implemented by the named provider. NoSuchProviderException If the named provider is not installed. IllegalArgumentException if either type or provider is null, or if type is an empty string.

getInstance

public static final CertificateFactory getInstance(String type, Provider provider)

Returns an instance of a CertificateFactory representing the specified certificate factory type from the designated provider.

Parameters: type The type of certificate factory to create. provider The provider from which to get the implementation.

Returns: A CertificateFactory for the desired type.

Throws: CertificateException If the type of certificate is not implemented by the provider. IllegalArgumentException if either type or provider is null, or if type is an empty string.

getProvider

public final Provider getProvider()

Gets the provider of this implementation.

Returns: The provider of this implementation.

getType

public final String getType()

Returns the type of the certificate this factory creates.

Returns: A string with the type of certificate