Asn Chilkat2 Perl Reference Documentation
Chilkat2::Asn
Current Version: 11.7.0
Markdown version of this page for AI tools (v 11.7.0) · all AI docs
Chilkat.Asn
Load ASN.1 from binary DER bytes, encoded text such as Base64 or hex,
files, or existing
Read the item tag, tag value, constructed/primitive state, sub-item
count, string content, boolean value, or integer value.
Append constructed
Add booleans, integers, big integers, bit strings, octet strings, OIDs,
strings, times, null values, and encoded byte content.
Add context-specific primitive or constructed items when working with
ASN.1 formats that use tagged application-specific structures.
Convert ASN.1 to XML for inspection or editing, load ASN.1 back from XML,
and output the result as binary or encoded DER.
Load, inspect, build, edit, and encode ASN.1 structures in DER or XML form.
Chilkat.Asn represents an ASN.1 item and its optional child
items. It can load ASN.1 from binary DER, encoded DER strings, files, or
BinData; expose tags, tag values, primitive content, boolean
and integer values, and child counts; build constructed structures such as
SEQUENCE and SET; append common primitive types
such as booleans, integers, big integers, bit strings, octets, OIDs, strings,
times, null values, and context-specific items; convert ASN.1 to XML; reload
from that XML form; and write the final structure back to DER.
Load DER data
BinData objects.
Inspect ASN.1 items
Build sequences and sets
SEQUENCE and SET items,
then add child ASN.1 values beneath them.
Append primitive values
Context-specific tags
DER and XML conversion
LoadBinary, LoadEncoded,
LoadBd, or LoadBinaryFile, inspect the tree with
Tag, Constructed, NumSubItems, and
GetSubItem, then extract primitive content or convert to XML
with AsnToXml. To create ASN.1, start with a constructed item,
append child values, and write the final DER with GetBinaryDer,
GetEncodedDer, WriteBd, or
WriteBinaryDer.
Object Creation
use Chilkat2;
my $asn = Chilkat2::Asn->new;
# or set properties (and RaiseError) at creation:
# my $asn = Chilkat2::Asn->new(VerboseLogging => 1, RaiseError => 1);Creates the object. The optional pairs set writable properties (and RaiseError) in order, as if set one by one; an unknown or read-only name croaks. use Chilkat2; loads every class; the Chilkat2/Asn.pm file holds only this class's documentation (perldoc Chilkat2::Asn).
Perl frees the object when its last reference goes (undef $asn, or the variable going out of scope); there is nothing to close. Objects returned by methods are independent and freed the same way. The class may be subclassed (use parent -norequire, 'Chilkat2::Asn';): an object is a blessed hash reference whose hash is free for the subclass's own fields.
When false (the default), a method that fails returns false (or undef), and the reason is in LastErrorText. When true, it dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead, as DBI does with its RaiseError. Objects returned by a method inherit the value of the object that returned them.
Errors
A Chilkat2::Error stringifies to the failed call's full LastErrorText, and has the methods text, class ('Chilkat2::Asn'), method (the method name) and object. Methods that look something up and find nothing return undef without dying (each such method says so), methods that answer a question (HasMember, IsUnlocked, ...) return a plain boolean, and property reads and writes never fail for Chilkat reasons.
Misuse always croaks, with your file and line, whatever RaiseError is: a wrong number of arguments, a reference or undef where a string or number is expected, an object of the wrong class, an out-of-range integer, a string containing a NUL character, a wide character in a byte string, or a write to a read-only property.
Strings are Perl character strings in both directions (length, regexes and :encoding layers see characters); binary data (BinData) is a byte string. Unlocking: call Chilkat2::Global->new->UnlockBundle('...') once at startup.
Properties
BoolValue
my $boolVal = $asn->BoolValue;
$asn->BoolValue($boolVal);
The ASN.1 item's boolean value if it is a boolean item.
topConstructed
my $boolVal = $asn->Constructed;
1 if this ASN.1 item is a constructed item. Sequence and Set items are constructed and can contain sub-items. All other tags (boolean, integer, octets, utf8String, etc.) are primitive (non-constructed).
ContentStr
my $strVal = $asn->ContentStr;
$asn->ContentStr($strVal);
The ASN.1 item's content if it is an ASN.1 string type (such as Utf8String, BmpString, PrintableString, VisibleString, T61String, IA5String, NumericString, or UniversalString).
topDebugLogFilePath
my $strVal = $asn->DebugLogFilePath;
$asn->DebugLogFilePath($strVal);
If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. This logging helps identify the context and history of Chilkat calls leading up to any crash or hang, aiding in debugging.
Enabling the VerboseLogging property provides more detailed information. This property is mainly used for debugging rare instances where a Chilkat method call causes a hang or crash, which should generally not happen.
Possible causes of hangs include:
- A timeout property set to 0, indicating an infinite timeout.
- A hang occurring within an event callback in the application code.
- An internal bug in the Chilkat code causing the hang.
IntValue
my $intVal = $asn->IntValue;
$asn->IntValue($intVal);
The ASN.1 item's integer value if it is a small integer item.
topLastErrorHtml
my $strVal = $asn->LastErrorHtml;
Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastErrorText
my $strVal = $asn->LastErrorText;
Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
LastErrorXml
my $strVal = $asn->LastErrorXml;
Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. If a method call fails or behaves unexpectedly, check this property for details. Note that information is available regardless of the method call's success.
topLastMethodSuccess
my $boolVal = $asn->LastMethodSuccess;
$asn->LastMethodSuccess($boolVal);
Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: 1 means success, 0 means failure. This property remains unchanged by property setters or getters. This method is present to address challenges in checking for null or Nothing returns in certain programming languages. Note: This property does not apply to methods that return integer values or to boolean-returning methods where the boolean does not indicate success or failure.
NumSubItems
my $intVal = $asn->NumSubItems;
The number of sub-items contained within this ASN.1 item. Only constructed items, such as Sequence and Set will contain sub-iitems. Primitive items such as OIDs, octet strings, integers, etc. will never contain sub-items.
topTag
my $strVal = $asn->Tag;
The ASN.1 item's tag as a descriptive string. Possible values are:
boolean integer bitString octets null oid utf8String relativeOid sequence set numericString printableString t61String ia5String utcTime bmpStringtop
TagValue
my $intVal = $asn->TagValue;
The ASN.1 item's tag as a integer value. The integer values for possible tags are as follows:
boolean (1) integer (2) bitString (3) octets (4) null (5) oid (6) utf8String (12) relativeOid (13) sequence (16) set (17) numericString (18) printableString (19) t61String (20) ia5String (22) utcTime (23) bmpString (30)top
VerboseLogging
my $boolVal = $asn->VerboseLogging;
$asn->VerboseLogging($boolVal);
If set to 1, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is 0. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.
Version
my $strVal = $asn->Version;
Methods
AppendBigInt
# $encoding is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->AppendBigInt($encodedBytes, $encoding);
Appends an ASN.1 integer, but one that is a big (huge) integer that is too large to be represented by an integer variable. The bytes composing the integer are passed in encoded string format (such as base64, hex, etc.). The byte order must be big-endian. The $encoding may be any of the following encodings: Base64, Hex, Base58, modBase64, Base32, UU, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Q, B, url_oath, url_rfc1738, url_rfc2396, and url_rfc3986. The $encoding name is case insensitive (for example, both Base64 and base64 are treated the same).
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendBits
# $encoding is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->AppendBits($encodedBytes, $encoding);
Appends an ASN.1 bit string to the caller's sub-items. The bytes containing the bits are passed in encoded string format (such as base64, hex, etc.). The byte order must be big-endian (MSB first). The $encoding may be any of the following encodings: Base64, Hex, Base58, modBase64, Base32, UU, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Q, B, url_oath, url_rfc1738, url_rfc2396, and url_rfc3986. The $encoding name is case insensitive (for example, both Base64 and base64 are treated the same).
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendBool
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->AppendBool($value);
Appends an ASN.1 boolean item to the caller's sub-items. Items may only be appended to constructed data types such as Sequence and Set.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendContextConstructed
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->AppendContextConstructed($tag);
Appends an ASN.1 context-specific constructed item to the caller's sub-items.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendContextPrimitive
# $encodedBytes is a string
# $encoding is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->AppendContextPrimitive($tag, $encodedBytes, $encoding);
Appends an ASN.1 context-specific primitive item to the caller's sub-items. The bytes are passed in encoded string format (such as base64, hex, etc.). The $encoding may be any of the following encodings: Base64, Hex, Base58, modBase64, Base32, UU, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Q, B, url_oath, url_rfc1738, url_rfc2396, and url_rfc3986. The $encoding name is case insensitive (for example, both Base64 and base64 are treated the same).
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendInt
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->AppendInt($value);
Appends an ASN.1 integer item to the caller's sub-items. Items may only be appended to constructed data types such as Sequence and Set.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendNull
my $success = $asn->AppendNull();
Appends an ASN.1 null item to the caller's sub-items. Items may only be appended to constructed data types such as Sequence and Set.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendOctets
# $encoding is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->AppendOctets($encodedBytes, $encoding);
Appends an ASN.1 octet string to the caller's sub-items. The bytes are passed in encoded string format (such as base64, hex, etc.). The $encoding may be any of the following encodings: Base64, Hex, Base58, modBase64, Base32, UU, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Q, B, url_oath, url_rfc1738, url_rfc2396, and url_rfc3986. The $encoding name is case insensitive (for example, both Base64 and base64 are treated the same).
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendOid
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->AppendOid($oid);
Appends an ASN.1 OID (object identifier) to the caller's sub-items. The OID is passed in string form, such as 1.2.840.113549.1.9.1.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendSequence
my $success = $asn->AppendSequence();
Appends an ASN.1 sequence item to the caller's sub-items.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendSequence2
my $success = $asn->AppendSequence2();
Appends an ASN.1 sequence item to the caller's sub-items, and updates the internal reference to point to the newly appended sequence item.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendSequenceR
my $asn2 = $asn->AppendSequenceR();
Appends an ASN.1 sequence item to the caller's sub-items, and returns the newly appended sequence item.
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way. The returned object is new and independent of this one, and inherits its RaiseError.
AppendSet
my $success = $asn->AppendSet();
Appends an ASN.1 set item to the caller's sub-items.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendSet2
my $success = $asn->AppendSet2();
Appends an ASN.1 set item to the caller's sub-items, and updates the internal reference to point to the newly appended set item.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendSetR
my $asn2 = $asn->AppendSetR();
Appends an ASN.1 set item to the caller's sub-items, and returns the newly appended set item.
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way. The returned object is new and independent of this one, and inherits its RaiseError.
AppendString
# $value is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->AppendString($strType, $value);
Appends a string item to the caller's sub-items. The $strType specifies the type of string to be added. It may be utf8, ia5, t61, printable, visible, numeric, universal, or bmp. The $value must conform to the ASN.1 restrictions imposed for a given string type. The utf8, bmp, and universal types have no restrictions on what characters are allowed. In general, unless a specific type of string is required, choose the utf8 type.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AppendTime
# $dateTimeStr is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->AppendTime($timeFormat, $dateTimeStr);
Appends a UTCTime item to the caller's sub-items. The $timeFormat specifies the format of the $dateTimeStr. It should be set to utc. (In the future, this method will be expanded to append GeneralizedTime items by using generalized for $timeFormat.) To append the current date/time, set $dateTimeStr equal to the empty string or the keyword now. Otherwise, the $dateTimeStr should be in the UTC time format YYMMDDhhmm[ss]Z or YYMMDDhhmm[ss](+|-)hhmm.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
AsnToXml
my $str = $asn->AsnToXml();
Converts ASN.1 to XML and returns the XML string.
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
DeleteSubItem
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->DeleteSubItem($index);
Discards the Nth sub-item. (The 1st sub-item is at index 0.)
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
GetEncodedContent
# $str is a string or undef
my $str = $asn->GetEncodedContent($encoding);
Returns the content of the ASN.1 item in encoded string form. The $encoding may be any of the following encodings: Base64, Hex, Base58, modBase64, Base32, UU, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Q, B, url_oath, url_rfc1738, url_rfc2396, and url_rfc3986. The $encoding name is case insensitive (for example, both Base64 and base64 are treated the same).
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
GetEncodedDer
# $str is a string or undef
my $str = $asn->GetEncodedDer($encoding);
Returns the binary DER in encoded string form. The $encoding indicates the encoding and can be base64, hex, uu, quoted-printable, base32, or modbase64.
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
GetLastSubItem
my $asn2 = $asn->GetLastSubItem();
Returns the last ASN.1 sub-item. This method can be called immediately after any Append* method to access the appended item.
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way. The returned object is new and independent of this one, and inherits its RaiseError.
GetSubItem
# $asn2 is a Chilkat2::Asn or undef
my $asn2 = $asn->GetSubItem($index);
Returns the Nth ASN.1 sub-item. The 1st sub-item is at index 0.
Returns undef on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way. The returned object is new and independent of this one, and inherits its RaiseError.
LoadAsnXml
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->LoadAsnXml($xmlStr);
Loads ASN.1 from the XML representation (such as that created by the AsnToXml method).
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
LoadBd
Loads ASN.1 from the binary DER contained in $bd.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
LoadBinaryFile
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->LoadBinaryFile($path);
Loads ASN.1 from a binary DER file.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
LoadEncoded
# $encoding is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->LoadEncoded($asnContent, $encoding);
Loads ASN.1 from an encoded string. The $encoding can be base64, hex, uu, quoted-printable, base32, or modbase64.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
SetEncodedContent
# $encoding is a string
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->SetEncodedContent($encodedBytes, $encoding);
Sets the content of this primitive ASN.1 item. The $encoding may be any of the following encodings: Base64, Hex, Base58, modBase64, Base32, UU, QP (for quoted-printable), URL (for url-encoding), Q, B, url_oath, url_rfc1738, url_rfc2396, and url_rfc3986. The $encoding name is case insensitive (for example, both Base64 and base64 are treated the same).
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
WriteBd
Appends the ASN.1 in binary DER format to $bd.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.
WriteBinaryDer
# $success is true or false
my $success = $asn->WriteBinaryDer($path);
Writes the ASN.1 in binary DER form to a file.
Returns true on success, false on failure; LastErrorText says why. With RaiseError on, a failure dies with a Chilkat2::Error instead (it stringifies to the LastErrorText); the object remains usable either way.