Module java.base
Package java.security

Class KeyFactorySpi

java.lang.Object
java.security.KeyFactorySpi

public abstract class KeyFactorySpi extends Object
This class defines the Service Provider Interface (SPI) for the KeyFactory class. All the abstract methods in this class must be implemented by each cryptographic service provider who wishes to supply the implementation of a key factory for a particular algorithm.

Key factories are used to convert keys (opaque cryptographic keys of type Key) into key specifications (transparent representations of the underlying key material), and vice versa.

Key factories are bidirectional. That is, they allow you to build an opaque key object from a given key specification (key material), or to retrieve the underlying key material of a key object in a suitable format.

Multiple compatible key specifications may exist for the same key. For example, a DSA public key may be specified using DSAPublicKeySpec or X509EncodedKeySpec. A key factory can be used to translate between compatible key specifications.

A provider should document all the key specifications supported by its key factory.

Since:
1.2
See Also: