java.security.cert
Class CertPathValidator

java.lang.Object
  |
  +--java.security.cert.CertPathValidator

public class CertPathValidator

extends Object

A class for validating certification paths (also known as certificate chains).

This class uses a provider-based architecture, as described in the Java Cryptography Architecture. To create a CertPathValidator, call one of the static getInstance methods, passing in the algorithm name of the CertPathValidator desired and optionally the name of the provider desired.

Once a CertPathValidator object has been created, it can be used to validate certification paths by calling the validate method and passing it the CertPath to be validated and an algorithm-specific set of parameters. If successful, the result is returned in an object that implements the CertPathValidatorResult interface.

Concurrent Access

The static methods of this class are guaranteed to be thread-safe. Multiple threads may concurrently invoke the static methods defined in this class with no ill effects.

However, this is not true for the non-static methods defined by this class. Unless otherwise documented by a specific provider, threads that need to access a single CertPathValidator instance concurrently should synchronize amongst themselves and provide the necessary locking. Multiple threads each manipulating a different CertPathValidator instance need not synchronize.

Since:

1.4

See Also:

CertPath

Constructor Summary

protected

CertPathValidator(CertPathValidatorSpi validatorSpi, Provider provider, String algorithm) Creates a CertPathValidator object of the given algorithm, and encapsulates the given provider implementation (SPI object) in it.

Method Summary

String	getAlgorithm() Returns the algorithm name of this CertPathValidator.
static String	getDefaultType() Returns the default CertPathValidator type as specified in the Java security properties file, or the string "PKIX" if no such property exists.
static CertPathValidator	getInstance(String algorithm) Returns a CertPathValidator object that implements the specified algorithm.
static CertPathValidator	getInstance(String algorithm, Provider provider) Returns a CertPathValidator object that implements the specified algorithm, as supplied by the specified provider.
static CertPathValidator	getInstance(String algorithm, String provider) Returns a CertPathValidator object that implements the specified algorithm, as supplied by the specified provider.
Provider	getProvider() Returns the Provider of this CertPathValidator.
CertPathValidatorResult	validate(CertPath certPath, CertPathParameters params) Validates the specified certification path using the specified algorithm parameter set.

Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait

Constructor Detail

CertPathValidator

protected CertPathValidator(CertPathValidatorSpi validatorSpi,
                            Provider provider,
                            String algorithm)

Creates a CertPathValidator object of the given algorithm, and encapsulates the given provider implementation (SPI object) in it.

Parameters:

validatorSpi - the provider implementation

provider - the provider

algorithm - the algorithm name

Method Detail

getInstance

public static CertPathValidator getInstance(String algorithm)
                                     throws NoSuchAlgorithmException

Returns a CertPathValidator object that implements the specified algorithm.

If the default provider package provides an implementation of the specified CertPathValidator algorithm, an instance of CertPathValidator containing that implementation is returned. If the requested algorithm is not available in the default package, other packages are searched.

Parameters:

algorithm - the name of the requested CertPathValidator algorithm

Returns:

a CertPathValidator object that implements the specified algorithm

Throws:

NoSuchAlgorithmException - if the requested algorithm is not available in the default provider package or any of the other provider packages that were searched

getInstance

public static CertPathValidator getInstance(String algorithm,
                                            String provider)
                                     throws NoSuchAlgorithmException,
                                            NoSuchProviderException

Returns a CertPathValidator object that implements the specified algorithm, as supplied by the specified provider.

Parameters:

algorithm - the name of the requested CertPathValidator algorithm

provider - the name of the provider

Returns:

a CertPathValidator object that implements the specified algorithm, as supplied by the specified provider

Throws:

NoSuchAlgorithmException - if the requested algorithm is not available from the specified provider

NoSuchProviderException - if the provider has not been configured

IllegalArgumentException - if the provider is null

getInstance

public static CertPathValidator getInstance(String algorithm,
                                            Provider provider)
                                     throws NoSuchAlgorithmException

Returns a CertPathValidator object that implements the specified algorithm, as supplied by the specified provider. Note: the provider doesn't have to be registered.

Parameters:

algorithm - the name of the requested CertPathValidator algorithm

provider - the provider

Returns:

a CertPathValidator object that implements the specified algorithm, as supplied by the specified provider

Throws:

NoSuchAlgorithmException - if the requested algorithm is not available from the specified provider

IllegalArgumentException - if the provider is null

getProvider

public final Provider getProvider()

Returns the Provider of this CertPathValidator.

Returns:

the Provider of this CertPathValidator

getAlgorithm

public final String getAlgorithm()

Returns the algorithm name of this CertPathValidator.

Returns:

the algorithm name of this CertPathValidator

validate

public final CertPathValidatorResult validate(CertPath certPath,
                                              CertPathParameters params)
                                       throws CertPathValidatorException,
                                              InvalidAlgorithmParameterException

Validates the specified certification path using the specified algorithm parameter set.

The CertPath specified must be of a type that is supported by the validation algorithm, otherwise an InvalidAlgorithmParameterException will be thrown. For example, a CertPathValidator that implements the PKIX algorithm validates CertPath objects of type X.509.

Parameters:

certPath - the CertPath to be validated

params - the algorithm parameters

Returns:

the result of the validation algorithm

Throws:

CertPathValidatorException - if the CertPath does not validate

InvalidAlgorithmParameterException - if the specified parameters or the type of the specified CertPath are inappropriate for this CertPathValidator

getDefaultType

public static final String getDefaultType()

Returns the default CertPathValidator type as specified in the Java security properties file, or the string "PKIX" if no such property exists. The Java security properties file is located in the file named <JAVA_HOME>/lib/security/java.security, where <JAVA_HOME> refers to the directory where the SDK was installed.

The default CertPathValidator type can be used by applications that do not want to use a hard-coded type when calling one of the getInstance methods, and want to provide a default type in case a user does not specify its own.

The default CertPathValidator type can be changed by setting the value of the "certpathvalidator.type" security property (in the Java security properties file) to the desired type.

Returns:

the default CertPathValidator type as specified in the Java security properties file, or the string "PKIX" if no such property exists.