KeySpec

AI-generated Key Takeaways

• KeySpec is an interface used to define the material that makes up a cryptographic key, including information for identifying keys stored on hardware.

• Keys can be specified in an algorithm-specific way (like using components for a DSA key) or in an algorithm-independent encoding format (like DER encoding).

• The primary purpose of this interface is to group and provide type safety for all key specifications, ensuring all implementations adhere to a common type.

• KeySpec itself has no methods or constants; it serves solely as a marker interface for key specifications.

public interface KeySpec

Known Indirect Subclasses DESKeySpec, DESedeKeySpec, DHPrivateKeySpec, DHPublicKeySpec, DSAPrivateKeySpec, DSAPublicKeySpec, ECPrivateKeySpec, ECPublicKeySpec, EncodedKeySpec, PBEKeySpec, PKCS8EncodedKeySpec, RSAMultiPrimePrivateCrtKeySpec, RSAPrivateCrtKeySpec, RSAPrivateKeySpec, RSAPublicKeySpec, SecretKeySpec, X509EncodedKeySpec DESKeySpec This class specifies a DES key.  DESedeKeySpec This class specifies a DES-EDE ("triple-DES") key.  DHPrivateKeySpec This class specifies a Diffie-Hellman private key with its associated parameters.  DHPublicKeySpec This class specifies a Diffie-Hellman public key with its associated parameters.  DSAPrivateKeySpec This class specifies a DSA private key with its associated parameters.  DSAPublicKeySpec This class specifies a DSA public key with its associated parameters.  ECPrivateKeySpec This immutable class specifies an elliptic curve private key with its associated parameters.  ECPublicKeySpec This immutable class specifies an elliptic curve public key with its associated parameters.  EncodedKeySpec This class represents a public or private key in encoded format.  PBEKeySpec A user-chosen password that can be used with password-based encryption (PBE).  PKCS8EncodedKeySpec This class represents the ASN.1 encoding of a private key, encoded according to the ASN.1 type PrivateKeyInfo.  RSAMultiPrimePrivateCrtKeySpec This class specifies an RSA multi-prime private key, as defined in the PKCS#1 v2.1, using the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) information values for efficiency.  RSAPrivateCrtKeySpec This class specifies an RSA private key, as defined in the PKCS#1 standard, using the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) information values for efficiency.  RSAPrivateKeySpec This class specifies an RSA private key.  RSAPublicKeySpec This class specifies an RSA public key.  SecretKeySpec This class specifies a secret key in a provider-independent fashion.  X509EncodedKeySpec This class represents the ASN.1 encoding of a public key, encoded according to the ASN.1 type SubjectPublicKeyInfo.

A (transparent) specification of the key material that constitutes a cryptographic key.

If the key is stored on a hardware device, its specification may contain information that helps identify the key on the device.

A key may be specified in an algorithm-specific way, or in an algorithm-independent encoding format (such as ASN.1). For example, a DSA private key may be specified by its components x, p, q, and g (see DSAPrivateKeySpec), or it may be specified using its DER encoding (see PKCS8EncodedKeySpec).

This interface contains no methods or constants. Its only purpose is to group (and provide type safety for) all key specifications. All key specifications must implement this interface.

See Also

• Key
• KeyFactory
• EncodedKeySpec
• X509EncodedKeySpec
• PKCS8EncodedKeySpec
• DSAPrivateKeySpec
• DSAPublicKeySpec