java.security.cert.CertPath
is new.
java.lang.Object
An immutable sequence of certificates (a certification path).
This is an abstract class that defines the methods common to all CertPaths. Subclasses can handle different kinds of certificates (X.509, PGP, etc.).
All CertPath objects have a type, a list of Certificates, and one or more supported encodings. Because the CertPath class is immutable, a CertPath cannot change in any externally visible way after being constructed. This stipulation applies to all public fields and methods of this class and any added or overridden by subclasses.
The type is a String that identifies the type of Certificates in the certification path. For each certificate cert in a certification path certPath, cert.getType().equals(certPath.getType()) must be true.
The list of Certificates is an ordered List of zero or more Certificates. This List and all of the Certificates contained in it must be immutable.
Each CertPath object must support one or more encodings so that the object can be translated into a byte array for storage or transmission to other parties. Preferably, these encodings should be well-documented standards (such as PKCS#7). One of the encodings supported by a CertPath is considered the default encoding. This encoding is used if no encoding is explicitly requested (for the getEncoded() method, for instance).
All CertPath objects are also Serializable. CertPath objects are resolved into an alternate CertPathRep object during serialization. This allows a CertPath object to be serialized into an equivalent representation regardless of its underlying implementation.
CertPath objects can be created with a CertificateFactory or they can be returned by other classes, such as a CertPathBuilder.
By convention, X.509 CertPaths (consisting of X509Certificates), are ordered starting with the target certificate and ending with a certificate issued by the trust anchor. That is, the issuer of one certificate is the subject of the following one. The certificate representing the TrustAnchor should not be included in the certification path. Unvalidated X.509 CertPaths may not follow these conventions. PKIX CertPathValidators will detect any departure from these conventions that cause the certification path to be invalid and throw a CertPathValidatorException.
Concurrent Access
All CertPath objects must be thread-safe. That is, multiple threads may concurrently invoke the methods defined in this class on a single CertPath object (or more than one) with no ill effects. This is also true for the List returned by CertPath.getCertificates.
Requiring CertPath objects to be immutable and thread-safe allows them to be passed around to various pieces of code without worrying about coordinating access. Providing this thread-safety is generally not difficult, since the CertPath and List objects in question are immutable.
| Nested Class Summary | |
|---|---|
| protected static class |
CertPath.CertPathRep
Alternate CertPath class for serialization. |
| Constructor Summary | |
|---|---|
| protected |
CertPath
(
String
type) Creates a CertPath of the specified type. |
| Method Summary | |
|---|---|
| boolean |
equals
(
Object
other) Compares this certification path for equality with the specified object. |
|
abstract
List
<? extends
Certificate
|
getCertificates
() Returns the list of certificates in this certification path. |
| abstract byte[] |
getEncoded
() Returns the encoded form of this certification path, using the default encoding. |
| abstract byte[] |
getEncoded
(
String
encoding) Returns the encoded form of this certification path, using the specified encoding. |
|
abstract
Iterator
<
String
|
getEncodings
() Returns an iteration of the encodings supported by this certification path, with the default encoding first. |
| String |
getType
() Returns the type of Certificates in this certification path. |
| int |
hashCode
() Returns the hashcode for this certification path. |
| String |
toString
() Returns a string representation of this certification path. |
| protected Object |
writeReplace
() Replaces the CertPath to be serialized with a CertPathRep object. |
| Methods inherited from class java.lang. Object |
|---|
| clone , finalize , getClass , notify , notifyAll , wait , wait , wait |
| Constructor Detail |
|---|
protected CertPath(String type)
This constructor is protected because most users should use a CertificateFactory to create CertPaths.
| Method Detail |
|---|
public String getType()
public abstract Iterator
public boolean equals(Object other)
This algorithm is implemented by this method. If it is overridden, the behavior specified here must be maintained.
public int hashCode()
hashCode = path.getType().hashCode(); hashCode = 31*hashCode + path.getCertificates().hashCode();This ensures that path1.equals(path2) implies that path1.hashCode()==path2.hashCode() for any two certification paths, path1 and path2, as required by the general contract of Object.hashCode.
public String toString()
public abstract byte[] getEncoded()
throws CertificateEncodingException
public abstract byte[] getEncoded(String encoding)
throws CertificateEncodingException
public abstract List
protected Object writeReplace()
throws ObjectStreamException