SecureString C Reference Documentation

SecureString

Current Version: 10.1.0

A string class that stores the characters in memory in 256-bit AES CBC encrypted form. The encryption key will be a randomly-generated key.

Create/Dispose

HCkSecureString instance = CkSecureString_Create();
// ...
CkSecureString_Dispose(instance);
HCkSecureString CkSecureString_Create(void);

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

void CkSecureString_Dispose(HCkSecureString handle);

Objects created by calling CkSecureString_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 CkSecureString_Dispose.

Properties

LastMethodSuccess
BOOL CkSecureString_getLastMethodSuccess(HCkSecureString cHandle);
void CkSecureString_putLastMethodSuccess(HCkSecureString cHandle, BOOL newVal);

Indicate whether the last method call succeeded or failed. A value of TRUE indicates success, a value of FALSE indicates failure. This property is automatically set for method calls. It is not modified by property accesses. The property is automatically set to indicate success for the following types of method calls:

  • Any method that returns a string.
  • Any method returning a Chilkat object, binary bytes, or a date/time.
  • Any method returning a standard boolean status value where success = TRUE and failure = FALSE.
  • Any method returning an integer where failure is defined by a return value less than zero.

Note: Methods that do not fit the above requirements will always set this property equal to TRUE. For example, a method that returns no value (such as a "void" in C++) will technically always succeed.

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MaintainHash
void CkSecureString_getMaintainHash(HCkSecureString cHandle, HCkString retval);
void CkSecureString_putMaintainHash(HCkSecureString cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkSecureString_maintainHash(HCkSecureString cHandle);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

If set to the name of a hash algorithm, then a hash of the current string value is maintained. This allows for the hash to be verified via the VerifyHash method. Possible hash algorithm names are "sha1", "sha256", "sha384", "sha512", "md5", "md2", "ripemd160", "ripemd128","ripemd256", and "ripemd320".

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ReadOnly
BOOL CkSecureString_getReadOnly(HCkSecureString cHandle);
void CkSecureString_putReadOnly(HCkSecureString cHandle, BOOL newVal);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

Can be set to TRUE to make this secure string read-only (cannot be modified).

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Utf8
BOOL CkSecureString_getUtf8(HCkSecureString cHandle);
void CkSecureString_putUtf8(HCkSecureString 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.

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Methods

Access
BOOL CkSecureString_Access(HCkSecureString cHandle, HCkString outStr);
const char *CkSecureString_access(HCkSecureString cHandle);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

Returns the clear-text string value.

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

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Append
BOOL CkSecureString_Append(HCkSecureString cHandle, const char *str);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

Appends a clear-text string to this secure string. The in-memory data will be decrypted, the string will be appended, and then it will be re-encrypted. Can return FALSE if the string has been marked as read-only via the ReadOnly property.

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

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AppendSb
BOOL CkSecureString_AppendSb(HCkSecureString cHandle, HCkStringBuilder sb);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

Appends a clear-text string contained in a StringBuilder to this secure string. The in-memory data will be decrypted, the string will be appended, and then it will be re-encrypted. Can return FALSE if the string has been marked as read-only via the ReadOnly property.

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

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AppendSecure
BOOL CkSecureString_AppendSecure(HCkSecureString cHandle, HCkSecureString secStr);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

Appends the contents of a secure string to this secure string. The in-memory data will be decrypted, the secure string will be appended, and then it will be re-encrypted. Can return FALSE if this string has been marked as read-only via the ReadOnly property.

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HashVal
BOOL CkSecureString_HashVal(HCkSecureString cHandle, const char *encoding, HCkString outStr);
const char *CkSecureString_hashVal(HCkSecureString cHandle, const char *encoding);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

Returns the hash value for the current value of this secure string. The encoding specifies the encoding to be used. It can be any of the binary encoding algorithms, such as "base64", "hex", and many more listed at Chilkat Binary Encodings

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

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LoadFile
BOOL CkSecureString_LoadFile(HCkSecureString cHandle, const char *path, const char *charset);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

Loads the contents of a file into this secure string. The current contents of this object are replaced with the new text from the file.

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

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SecStrEquals
BOOL CkSecureString_SecStrEquals(HCkSecureString cHandle, HCkSecureString secStr);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

Returns TRUE if the secStr equals the contents of this secure string.

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

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VerifyHash
BOOL CkSecureString_VerifyHash(HCkSecureString cHandle, const char *hashVal, const char *encoding);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.71

Verifies the hashVal against the hash value stored for the current value of this secure string. The MaintainHash property must've previously been set for this secure string to maintain an internal hash. The encoding specifies the encoding of the hashVal. It can be any of the binary encoding algorithms, such as "base64", "hex", and many more listed at Chilkat Binary Encodings

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

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