PublicKey C Reference Documentation

PublicKey

Current Version: 9.5.0.97

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, causes each Chilkat method or property call to automatically append it's LastErrorText to the specified log file. The information is appended such that if a hang or crash occurs, it is possible to see the context in which the problem occurred, as well as a history of all Chilkat calls up to the point of the problem. The VerboseLogging property can be set to provide more detailed information.

This property is typically used for debugging the rare cases where a Chilkat method call hangs or generates an exception that halts program execution (i.e. crashes). A hang or crash should generally never happen. The typical causes of a hang are:

  1. a timeout related property was set to 0 to explicitly indicate that an infinite timeout is desired,
  2. the hang is actually a hang within an event callback (i.e. it is a hang within the application code), or
  3. there is an internal problem (bug) in the Chilkat code that causes the hang.

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Empty
BOOL CkPublicKey_getEmpty(HCkPublicKey cHandle);
Introduced in version 9.5.0.87

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

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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.

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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".

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

Provides information in HTML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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

Provides information in plain-text format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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

Provides information in XML format about the last method/property called. If a method call returns a value indicating failure, or behaves unexpectedly, examine this property to get more information.

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LastMethodSuccess
BOOL CkPublicKey_getLastMethodSuccess(HCkPublicKey cHandle);
void CkPublicKey_putLastMethodSuccess(HCkPublicKey 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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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.

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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.

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

Version of the component/library, such as "9.5.0.94"

More Information and Examples
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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
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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.

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

Saves the public key to an XML file.

Returns TRUE for success, FALSE for failure.

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