PublicKey C Reference Documentation

PublicKey

Current Version: 10.1.0

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.

Create/Dispose

HCkPublicKey instance = CkPublicKey_Create();
// ...
CkPublicKey_Dispose(instance);

HCkPublicKey CkPublicKey_Create(void);

Creates an instance of the HCkPublicKey object and returns a handle ("void *" pointer). The handle is passed in the 1st argument for the functions listed on this page.

void CkPublicKey_Dispose(HCkPublicKey handle);

Objects created by calling CkPublicKey_Create must be freed by calling this method. A memory leak occurs if a handle is not disposed by calling this function. Also, any handle returned by a Chilkat "C" function must also be freed by the application by calling the appropriate Dispose method, such as CkPublicKey_Dispose.

Properties

DebugLogFilePath

void CkPublicKey_getDebugLogFilePath(HCkPublicKey cHandle, HCkString retval);
void CkPublicKey_putDebugLogFilePath(HCkPublicKey cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkPublicKey_debugLogFilePath(HCkPublicKey cHandle);

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.

More Information and Examples

Example showing how to use DebugLogFilePath.

Empty

BOOL CkPublicKey_getEmpty(HCkPublicKey cHandle);

Introduced in version 9.5.0.87

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

KeySize

int CkPublicKey_getKeySize(HCkPublicKey cHandle);

Introduced in version 9.5.0.67

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

KeyType

void CkPublicKey_getKeyType(HCkPublicKey cHandle, HCkString retval);
const char *CkPublicKey_keyType(HCkPublicKey cHandle);

Introduced in version 9.5.0.52

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

LastErrorHtml

void CkPublicKey_getLastErrorHtml(HCkPublicKey cHandle, HCkString retval);
const char *CkPublicKey_lastErrorHtml(HCkPublicKey cHandle);

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.

LastErrorText

void CkPublicKey_getLastErrorText(HCkPublicKey cHandle, HCkString retval);
const char *CkPublicKey_lastErrorText(HCkPublicKey cHandle);

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.

More Information and Examples

Concept of LastErrorText LastErrorText Standard Information

LastErrorXml

void CkPublicKey_getLastErrorXml(HCkPublicKey cHandle, HCkString retval);
const char *CkPublicKey_lastErrorXml(HCkPublicKey cHandle);

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.

LastMethodSuccess

BOOL CkPublicKey_getLastMethodSuccess(HCkPublicKey cHandle);
void CkPublicKey_putLastMethodSuccess(HCkPublicKey cHandle, BOOL newVal);

Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: TRUE means success, FALSE 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.

Utf8

BOOL CkPublicKey_getUtf8(HCkPublicKey cHandle);
void CkPublicKey_putUtf8(HCkPublicKey cHandle, BOOL newVal);

When set to TRUE, all "const char *" arguments are interpreted as utf-8 strings. If set to FALSE (the default), then "const char *" arguments are interpreted as ANSI strings. Also, when set to TRUE, and Chilkat method returning a "const char *" is returning the utf-8 representation. If set to FALSE, all "const char *" return values are ANSI strings.

VerboseLogging

BOOL CkPublicKey_getVerboseLogging(HCkPublicKey cHandle);
void CkPublicKey_putVerboseLogging(HCkPublicKey cHandle, BOOL newVal);

If set to TRUE, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is FALSE. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

Version

void CkPublicKey_getVersion(HCkPublicKey cHandle, HCkString retval);
const char *CkPublicKey_version(HCkPublicKey cHandle);

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

More Information and Examples

How to get the Chilkat version at runtime.

Methods

GetDer

BOOL CkPublicKey_GetDer(HCkPublicKey cHandle, BOOL preferPkcs1, HCkByteData outBytes);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

GetEncoded

BOOL CkPublicKey_GetEncoded(HCkPublicKey cHandle, BOOL preferPkcs1, const char *encoding, HCkString outStr);
const char *CkPublicKey_getEncoded(HCkPublicKey cHandle, BOOL preferPkcs1, const char *encoding);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

GetJwk

BOOL CkPublicKey_GetJwk(HCkPublicKey cHandle, HCkString outStr);
const char *CkPublicKey_getJwk(HCkPublicKey cHandle);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

More Information and Examples

Get ECC Public Key in JWK Format (JSON Web Key)Get RSA Public Key in JWK Format (JSON Web Key)Create JWK Set Containing Certificates

GetJwkThumbprint

BOOL CkPublicKey_GetJwkThumbprint(HCkPublicKey cHandle, const char *hashAlg, HCkString outStr);
const char *CkPublicKey_getJwkThumbprint(HCkPublicKey cHandle, const char *hashAlg);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

More Information and Examples

Compute JWK Thumbprint for RSA and EC Public Keys

GetPem

BOOL CkPublicKey_GetPem(HCkPublicKey cHandle, BOOL preferPkcs1, HCkString outStr);
const char *CkPublicKey_getPem(HCkPublicKey cHandle, BOOL preferPkcs1);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

GetXml

BOOL CkPublicKey_GetXml(HCkPublicKey cHandle, HCkString outStr);
const char *CkPublicKey_getXml(HCkPublicKey cHandle);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

LoadBase64

BOOL CkPublicKey_LoadBase64(HCkPublicKey cHandle, const char *keyStr);

Introduced in version 9.5.0.47

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

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

LoadBd

BOOL CkPublicKey_LoadBd(HCkPublicKey cHandle, HCkBinData bd);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

LoadEcdsa

BOOL CkPublicKey_LoadEcdsa(HCkPublicKey cHandle, const char *curveName, const char *Qx, const char *Qy);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

More Information and Examples

Load EC Public Key from X,Y Values (easier)

LoadEd25519

BOOL CkPublicKey_LoadEd25519(HCkPublicKey cHandle, const char *pubKey);

Introduced in version 9.5.0.83

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

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

LoadFromBinary

BOOL CkPublicKey_LoadFromBinary(HCkPublicKey cHandle, HCkByteData keyBytes);

Introduced in version 9.5.0.58

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

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

LoadFromFile

BOOL CkPublicKey_LoadFromFile(HCkPublicKey cHandle, const char *path);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

LoadFromString

BOOL CkPublicKey_LoadFromString(HCkPublicKey cHandle, const char *keyString);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

More Information and Examples

Load JWK into PublicKey Object

SaveDerFile

BOOL CkPublicKey_SaveDerFile(HCkPublicKey cHandle, BOOL preferPkcs1, const char *path);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

SavePemFile

BOOL CkPublicKey_SavePemFile(HCkPublicKey cHandle, BOOL preferPkcs1, const char *path);

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 TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

More Information and Examples

Convert RSA Private Key to Public Key Export Public Key from USB Token or Smartcard using the Apple Keychain

SaveXmlFile

BOOL CkPublicKey_SaveXmlFile(HCkPublicKey cHandle, const char *path);

Saves the public key to an XML file.

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.