SecureString C Reference Documentation

SecureString

Current Version: 11.0.0

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

DebugLogFilePath

void CkSecureString_getDebugLogFilePath(HCkSecureString cHandle, HCkString retval);
void CkSecureString_putDebugLogFilePath(HCkSecureString cHandle, const char *newVal);
const char *CkSecureString_debugLogFilePath(HCkSecureString 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.

LastErrorHtml

void CkSecureString_getLastErrorHtml(HCkSecureString cHandle, HCkString retval);
const char *CkSecureString_lastErrorHtml(HCkSecureString 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 CkSecureString_getLastErrorText(HCkSecureString cHandle, HCkString retval);
const char *CkSecureString_lastErrorText(HCkSecureString 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 CkSecureString_getLastErrorXml(HCkSecureString cHandle, HCkString retval);
const char *CkSecureString_lastErrorXml(HCkSecureString 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 CkSecureString_getLastMethodSuccess(HCkSecureString cHandle);
void CkSecureString_putLastMethodSuccess(HCkSecureString 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.

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".

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).

Utf8

BOOL CkSecureString_getUtf8(HCkSecureString cHandle);
void CkSecureString_putUtf8(HCkSecureString cHandle, BOOL newVal);

When set to TRUE, all const char * arguments and return values are interpreted as UTF-8 strings. When set to FALSE, they are interpreted as ANSI strings.

In Chilkat v11.0.0 and later, the default value is TRUE. Before v11.0.0, it was FALSE.

VerboseLogging

BOOL CkSecureString_getVerboseLogging(HCkSecureString cHandle);
void CkSecureString_putVerboseLogging(HCkSecureString 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 CkSecureString_getVersion(HCkSecureString cHandle, HCkString retval);
const char *CkSecureString_version(HCkSecureString cHandle);

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

More Information and Examples

How to get the Chilkat version at runtime.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.