PublicKey ActiveX Reference Documentation

PublicKey

Current Version: 10.1.2

Contains an RSA, DSA, or ECC public key. Provides methods for importing and exporting to/from PEM, DER, PKCS8, PKCS1, and XML formats. Public keys can be imported/exported to both memory and files.

Object Creation

Note:
For versions of Chilkat < 10.0.0, use "Chilkat_9_5_0.PublicKey" instead of "Chilkat.PublicKey"
For a specific major version, use "Chilkat.PublicKey.<major_version>", such as "Chilkat.PublicKey.10" for Chilkat v10.*.*
See Chilkat ActiveX Object Creation

(ASP)
set obj = Server.CreateObject("Chilkat.PublicKey")

(AutoIt)
$obj = ObjCreate("Chilkat.PublicKey")

(Visual Basic 6.0)
Dim obj As New PublicKey

(VBScript)
set obj = CreateObject("Chilkat.PublicKey")

(Delphi)
obj := TPublicKey.Create(Self);

(FoxPro)
loObject = CreateObject('Chilkat.PublicKey')

(PowerBuilder)
lole_object = create oleobject
li_rc = lole_object.ConnectToNewObject("Chilkat.PublicKey")

(SQL Server)
EXEC @hr = sp_OACreate 'Chilkat.PublicKey', @obj OUT

(Javascript)
var obj = new ActiveXObject("Chilkat.PublicKey");

Properties

DebugLogFilePath
DebugLogFilePath As String

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.

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Empty
Empty As Long (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.87

Indicates whether this object is empty or holds a public key.

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KeySize
KeySize As Long (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.67

Gets the size (in bits) of the public key. For example: 1024, 2048, etc.

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KeyType
KeyType As String (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

The type of public key. Can be "empty", "rsa", "dsa", or "ecc".

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LastBinaryResult
LastBinaryResult As Variant (read-only)

This property is mainly used in SQL Server stored procedures to retrieve binary data from the last method call that returned binary data. It is only accessible if Chilkat.Global.KeepBinaryResult is set to 1. This feature allows for the retrieval of large varbinary results in an SQL Server environment, which has restrictions on returning large data via method calls, though temp tables can handle binary properties.

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LastErrorHtml
LastErrorHtml As String (read-only)

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.

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LastErrorText
LastErrorText As String (read-only)

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.

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LastErrorXml
LastErrorXml As String (read-only)

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.

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LastMethodSuccess
LastMethodSuccess As Long

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.

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LastStringResult
LastStringResult As String (read-only)

In SQL Server stored procedures, this property holds the string return value of the most recent method call that returns a string. It is accessible only when Chilkat.Global.KeepStringResult is set to TRUE. SQL Server has limitations on string lengths returned from methods and properties, but temp tables can be used to access large strings.

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LastStringResultLen
LastStringResultLen As Long (read-only)

The length, in characters, of the string contained in the LastStringResult property.

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VerboseLogging
VerboseLogging As Long

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.

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Version
Version As String (read-only)

Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0"

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Methods

GetDer
GetDer(ByVal preferPkcs1 As Long) As Variant
Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

Returns the public key in binary DER format. If the key type (such as RSA) supports both PKCS1 and PKCS8 formats, then preferPkcs1 determine which format is returned.

Returns a zero-length byte array (as a Variant) on failure.
An empty array will have a UBound of -1 meaning 0 elements.

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GetEncoded
GetEncoded(ByVal preferPkcs1 As Long, encoding As String) As String
Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

Returns the public key in DER format as an encoded string (such as base64 or hex). If the key type (such as RSA) supports both PKCS1 and PKCS8 formats, then preferPkcs1 determine which format is returned. The encoding specifies the encoding, which is typically "base64".

Returns Nothing on failure

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GetJwk
GetJwk() As String
Introduced in version 9.5.0.66

Gets the public key in JWK (JSON Web Key) format.

RSA public keys have this JWK format:

         {"kty":"RSA",
          "n": "0vx7agoebGcQSuuPiLJXZptN9 ... U8awapJzKnqDKgw",
          "e":"AQAB"}

ECC public keys have this JWK format:

         {"kty":"EC",
          "crv":"P-256",
          "x":"MKBCTNIcKUSDii11ySs3526iDZ8AiTo7Tu6KPAqv7D4",
          "y":"4Etl6SRW2YiLUrN5vfvVHuhp7x8PxltmWWlbbM4IFyM"}

Ed25519 public keys (added in v9.5.0.83) have this JWK format:

         {"kty":"OKP",
          "crv":"Ed25519",
          "x": "SE2Kne5xt51z1eciMH2T2ftDQp96Gl6FhY6zSQujiP0"}

Returns Nothing on failure

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GetJwkThumbprint
GetJwkThumbprint(hashAlg As String) As String
Introduced in version 9.5.0.66

Returns the JWK thumbprint for the public key. This is the thumbprint of the JSON Web Key (JWK) as per RFC 7638.

Returns Nothing on failure

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GetPem
GetPem(ByVal preferPkcs1 As Long) As String
Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

Returns the public key in PEM format. If the key type (such as RSA) supports both PKCS1 and PKCS8 formats, then preferPkcs1 determine which format is returned.

Returns Nothing on failure

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GetXml
GetXml() As String

Gets the public key in XML format. The format depends on the key type. The key parts indicated by "..." are base64 encoded.

RSA public keys have this XML format:

<RSAPublicKey>
  <Modulus>...</Modulus>
  <Exponent>...</Exponent>
</RSAPublicKey>

DSA public keys have this XML format:

<DSAPublicKey>
    <P>...</P>
    <Q>...</Q>
    <G>...</G>
    <Y>...</Y>
</DSAPublicKey>

ECC public keys have this XML format:

<ECCPublicKey curve="CURVE_NAME" x="HEX_DATA" y="HEX_DATA">...</ECCPublicKey>

Returns Nothing on failure

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LoadBase64
LoadBase64(keyStr As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.47

Loads a public key from base64-encoded DER (can be PKCS1 or PKCS8).

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadBd
LoadBd(bd As ChilkatBinData) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.83

Loads a public key from any binary or string format where the data is contained in bd. Chilkat automatically recognizes the format and key type (RSA, EC, DSA, Ed25519, ..)

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadEcdsa
LoadEcdsa(curveName As String, Qx As String, Qy As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.85

Loads an ECDSA public key directly from Qx, Qy values specified as a hex strings. The curveName can be one of the following:

  • secp256r1
  • secp384r1
  • secp521r1
  • secp256k1
  • secp192r1
  • secp224r1
  • brainpoolp256r1
  • brainpoolp160r1
  • brainpoolp192r1
  • brainpoolp224r1
  • brainpoolp320r1
  • brainpoolp384r1
  • brainpoolp512r1

Note: ECDSA public keys of various formats, such as PKCS8, PKCS1, JWK, XML, binary DER, PEM, etc., can be loaded using the LoadBd, LoadFromBinary, LoadFromFile, and LoadFromString methods.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadEd25519
LoadEd25519(pubKey As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.83

Loads the public key object from a 32-byte ed25519 key specified as a hex string.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadFromBinary
LoadFromBinary(keyBytes As Variant) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

Loads a public key from binary DER. Auto-recognizes both PKCS1 and PKCS8 formats.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadFromFile
LoadFromFile(path As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

Loads a public key from a file. The file can be in any string or binary format such as binary DER (PKCS1 or PKCS8), PEM, XML, or encoded binary DER (such as base64 encoded binary DER). The format of the contents of the file is auto-recognized.

Starting in version 9.5.0.66, this method also supports loading the JWK (JSON Web Key) format.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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LoadFromString
LoadFromString(keyString As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

Loads a public key from any string format, such as PEM, XML, or encoded binary DER (such as base64 encoded binary DER). The format of the keyString is auto-recognized.

Starting in version 9.5.0.66, this method also supports loading the JWK (JSON Web Key) format.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SaveDerFile
SaveDerFile(ByVal preferPkcs1 As Long, path As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

Saves the public key to a file in binary DER format. If the key type (such as RSA) supports both PKCS1 and PKCS8 formats, then preferPkcs1 determine which format is returned.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SavePemFile
SavePemFile(ByVal preferPkcs1 As Long, path As String) As Long
Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

Saves the public key to a file in PEM format. If the key type (such as RSA) supports both PKCS1 and PKCS8 formats, then preferPkcs1 determine which format is returned.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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SaveXmlFile
SaveXmlFile(path As String) As Long

Saves the public key to an XML file.

Returns 1 for success, 0 for failure.

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