Chilkat VB.NET KeyContainer Class Reference

KeyContainer

* This is a freeware class/component/library.

Represents a key container on a Windows operating system. Each Windows system has a "machine keyset" where named key containers are potentially accessible to all processes. The "machine keyset" is a machine-wide container for key containers. Each user account also has it's own set of key containers. Therefore, when you open or create a key container by name, you must also indicate whether it's the "machine keyset" or the user account's keyset.

The KeyContainer object provides methods opening, creating, and deleting key containers by name. It also provides the ability to import public/private keys into a key container, or to export public/private keys from a key container. It can generate new key pairs. It can also enumerate the names of existing key containers.

Object Creation

(C#)
Chilkat.KeyContainer obj = new Chilkat.KeyContainer();
(VB.NET)
Dim obj As New Chilkat.KeyContainer()

Properties

ContainerName As String (ReadOnly)

The name of the currently open key container.

IsMachineKeyset As Boolean (ReadOnly)

true if the currently open key container is from the machine keyset, otherwise false.

IsOpen As Boolean (ReadOnly)

true if the object currently has a key container open, otherwise false.

LastErrorHtml As String (ReadOnly)

Error information in HTML format for the last method called.

LastErrorText As String (ReadOnly)

Error information in plain-text format for the last method called.

LastErrorXml As String (ReadOnly)

Error information in XML format for the last method called.

Methods

Sub CloseContainer()

Closes the currently opened key container (if this object has one opened).

When this object is destructed (i.e. garbage collected), the key container is automatically closed.

Function CreateContainer(ByVal name As String, ByVal machineKeyset As Boolean) As Boolean

Creates a new key container with a given name in the machine or user keyset. If a key container having the same name already exists, it is opened.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

Function DeleteContainer() As Boolean

Deletes a key container with a given name in the machine or user keyset.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

Function FetchContainerNames(ByVal bMachineKeyset As Boolean) As Boolean

Fetches the container names for the machine or user keyset. After this method has been called successfully, the GetNumContainers method can be called to get the number of key containers in the given keyset, and the GetContainerName method can be called to retrieve each key container's name by index.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

Function GenerateKeyPair(ByVal bKeyExchangePair As Boolean, ByVal keyLengthInBits As Integer) As Boolean

Generates a new key pair in the currently open key container. Each key container can contain two public/private key pairs: one for key exchange, and one for signature creation. The 1st argument determines which key pair is generated. A value of true causes a new key-exchange key pair to be generated, a value of false causes a new signature key pair to be generated. The size of the key (in bits) can range from 384 to 16384, with a typical value being 1024 or 2048 bits.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

Function GenerateUuid() As String

This method is provided as a convenient way of generating unique key container names. There are no set rules for naming key containers. However, if your application is to generate a large number of keys, using a UUID for the key container name is wise to ensure uniqueness.

Returns Nothing on failure

Function GetContainerName(ByVal bMachineKeyset As Boolean, ByVal index As Integer) As String

Returns the Nth key container name. The FetchContainerNames method must have been previously called with the same keyset (machine or user). The index ranges from 0 to GetNumContainers() - 1. A null reference is returned if the index is out-of-range or if FetchContainerNames was not previously called.

Returns Nothing on failure

Function GetNumContainers(ByVal bMachineKeyset As Boolean) As Integer

Returns the number of key containers in existence for the given keyset (machine or user). The FetchContainerNames method must have been previously called with the same keyset (machine or user).

Function GetPrivateKey(ByVal bKeyExchangePair As Boolean) As PrivateKey

A key container can hold two public/private key pairs -- a key-exchange pair and a signature pair. This method returns the private key for one of the key pairs. Passing a true returns the key-exchange pair, passing false returns the signature pair. A null reference is returned on failure.

Function GetPublicKey(ByVal bKeyExchangePair As Boolean) As PublicKey

A key container can hold two public/private key pairs -- a key-exchange pair and a signature pair. This method returns the public key for one of the key pairs. Passing a true returns the key-exchange pair, passing false returns the signature pair. A null reference is returned on failure.

Function ImportPrivateKey(ByVal key As PrivateKey, ByVal bKeyExchangePair As Boolean) As Boolean

Imports a private key into the key container. The 1st argument is the private key to be imported, and the 2nd argument determines if the key-exchange private key (true) or signature private key (false) is replaced. Note: A private key actually contains the key material for both the public and private key. When you have a private key, you effectively have both the public and private key of a key pair.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

Function ImportPublicKey(ByVal key As PublicKey, ByVal bKeyExchangePair As Boolean) As Boolean

Imports a public key into the key container. The 1st argument is the public key to be imported, and the 2nd argument determines if the key-exchange public key (true) or signature public key (false) is replaced.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

Function OpenContainer(ByVal name As String, ByVal needPrivateKeyAccess As Boolean, ByVal machineKeyset As Boolean) As Boolean

Opens an existing key container in either the machine or user keyset.

Returns true for success, false for failure.

Function SaveLastError(ByVal filename As String) As Boolean

Saves the last error information to an XML formatted file.