--- product: Chilkat product_version: 11.7.0 language: dataflex language_label: DataFlex class: Asn license: bundle deprecated: false reference_html: https://www.chilkatsoft.com/refdoc/dataflexAsnRef.html --- # Chilkat Asn — DataFlex — v11.7.0 > Chilkat 11.7.0 · language=dataflex · class=Asn > Other versions: replace `11.7.0` in this URL. Other languages: `https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0//classes/Asn.md`. > Language-wide rules (install, unlock, error model, strings/bytes): `https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0/dataflex/guide.md`. ## Purpose **Load, inspect, build, edit, and encode ASN.1 structures in DER or XML form.** `Chilkat.Asn` represents an ASN.1 item and its optional child items. It can load ASN.1 from binary DER, encoded DER strings, files, or `BinData`; expose tags, tag values, primitive content, boolean and integer values, and child counts; build constructed structures such as `SEQUENCE` and `SET`; append common primitive types such as booleans, integers, big integers, bit strings, octets, OIDs, strings, times, null values, and context-specific items; convert ASN.1 to XML; reload from that XML form; and write the final structure back to DER. **Load DER data** Load ASN.1 from binary DER bytes, encoded text such as Base64 or hex, files, or existing `BinData` objects. **Inspect ASN.1 items** Read the item tag, tag value, constructed/primitive state, sub-item count, string content, boolean value, or integer value. **Build sequences and sets** Append constructed `SEQUENCE` and `SET` items, then add child ASN.1 values beneath them. **Append primitive values** Add booleans, integers, big integers, bit strings, octet strings, OIDs, strings, times, null values, and encoded byte content. **Context-specific tags** Add context-specific primitive or constructed items when working with ASN.1 formats that use tagged application-specific structures. **DER and XML conversion** Convert ASN.1 to XML for inspection or editing, load ASN.1 back from XML, and output the result as binary or encoded DER. **Common pattern:** Load existing DER with `LoadBinary`, `LoadEncoded`, `LoadBd`, or `LoadBinaryFile`, inspect the tree with `Tag`, `Constructed`, `NumSubItems`, and `GetSubItem`, then extract primitive content or convert to XML with `AsnToXml`. To create ASN.1, start with a constructed item, append child values, and write the final DER with `GetBinaryDer`, `GetEncodedDer`, `WriteBd`, or `WriteBinaryDer`. ## Object creation, unlocking and error handling **Object Creation** ```dataflex // (Dataflex programs use the 32-bit Chilkat ActiveX) Handle hoAsn Get Create(RefClass(cComChilkatAsn)) to hoAsn ``` Call `Global.UnlockBundle` once at the start of the program, before using this or any other Chilkat class. Any string unlocks a fully functional 30-day trial; a purchased unlock code is used in production. See `guide.md` for the exact code in DataFlex. How failure is reported depends on the method's return type and is stated in the note under each method below. In every case the diagnostic text is in the `LastErrorText` property of the object whose method was called. ## Members common to every Chilkat class Documented once per language in `common-members.md`; listed here so this page is self-contained. | Property | Signature | Access | Meaning | |---|---|---|---| | `DebugLogFilePath` | `Function ComDebugLogFilePath Returns String Procedure Set ComDebugLogFilePath String value` | read/write | If set to a file path, this property logs the LastErrorText of each Chilkat method or property call to the specified file. | | `LastBinaryResult` | `Function ComLastBinaryResult Returns Variant` | read-only | This property is mainly used in SQL Server stored procedures to retrieve binary data from the last method call that returned binary data. | | `LastErrorHtml` | `Function ComLastErrorHtml Returns String` | read-only | Provides HTML-formatted information about the last called method or property. | | `LastErrorText` | `Function ComLastErrorText Returns String` | read-only | Provides plain text information about the last called method or property. | | `LastErrorXml` | `Function ComLastErrorXml Returns String` | read-only | Provides XML-formatted information about the last called method or property. | | `LastMethodSuccess` | `Function ComLastMethodSuccess Returns Boolean Procedure Set ComLastMethodSuccess Boolean value` | read/write | Indicates the success or failure of the most recent method call: `True` means success, `False` means failure. | | `LastStringResult` | `Function ComLastStringResult Returns String` | read-only | In SQL Server stored procedures, this property holds the string return value of the most recent method call that returns a string. | | `LastStringResultLen` | `Function ComLastStringResultLen Returns Integer` | read-only | The length, in characters, of the string contained in the LastStringResult property. | | `VerboseLogging` | `Function ComVerboseLogging Returns Boolean Procedure Set ComVerboseLogging Boolean value` | read/write | If set to `True`, then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. | | `Version` | `Function ComVersion Returns String` | read-only | Version of the component/library, such as "10.1.0" | ## Member index | Member | Kind | Signature | |---|---|---| | `BoolValue` | property, read/write | `Function ComBoolValue Returns Boolean Procedure Set ComBoolValue Boolean value` | | `Constructed` | property, read-only | `Function ComConstructed Returns Boolean` | | `ContentStr` | property, read/write | `Function ComContentStr Returns String Procedure Set ComContentStr String value` | | `IntValue` | property, read/write | `Function ComIntValue Returns Integer Procedure Set ComIntValue Integer value` | | `NumSubItems` | property, read-only | `Function ComNumSubItems Returns Integer` | | `Tag` | property, read-only | `Function ComTag Returns String` | | `TagValue` | property, read-only | `Function ComTagValue Returns Integer` | | `AppendBigInt` | method | `Function ComAppendBigInt String encodedBytes String encoding Returns Boolean` | | `AppendBits` | method | `Function ComAppendBits String encodedBytes String encoding Returns Boolean` | | `AppendBool` | method | `Function ComAppendBool Boolean value Returns Boolean` | | `AppendContextConstructed` | method | `Function ComAppendContextConstructed Integer tag Returns Boolean` | | `AppendContextPrimitive` | method | `Function ComAppendContextPrimitive Integer tag String encodedBytes String encoding Returns Boolean` | | `AppendInt` | method | `Function ComAppendInt Integer value Returns Boolean` | | `AppendNull` | method | `Function ComAppendNull Returns Boolean` | | `AppendOctets` | method | `Function ComAppendOctets String encodedBytes String encoding Returns Boolean` | | `AppendOid` | method | `Function ComAppendOid String oid Returns Boolean` | | `AppendSequence` | method | `Function ComAppendSequence Returns Boolean` | | `AppendSequence2` | method | `Function ComAppendSequence2 Returns Boolean` | | `AppendSequenceR` | method | `Function ComAppendSequenceR Returns cComChilkatAsn` | | `AppendSet` | method | `Function ComAppendSet Returns Boolean` | | `AppendSet2` | method | `Function ComAppendSet2 Returns Boolean` | | `AppendSetR` | method | `Function ComAppendSetR Returns cComChilkatAsn` | | `AppendString` | method | `Function ComAppendString String strType String value Returns Boolean` | | `AppendTime` | method | `Function ComAppendTime String timeFormat String dateTimeStr Returns Boolean` | | `AsnToXml` | method | `Function ComAsnToXml Returns String` | | `DeleteSubItem` | method | `Function ComDeleteSubItem Integer index Returns Boolean` | | `GetBinaryDer` | method | `Function ComGetBinaryDer Returns Variant` | | `GetEncodedContent` | method | `Function ComGetEncodedContent String encoding Returns String` | | `GetEncodedDer` | method | `Function ComGetEncodedDer String encoding Returns String` | | `GetLastSubItem` | method | `Function ComGetLastSubItem Returns cComChilkatAsn` | | `GetSubItem` | method | `Function ComGetSubItem Integer index Returns cComChilkatAsn` | | `LoadAsnXml` | method | `Function ComLoadAsnXml String xmlStr Returns Boolean` | | `LoadBd` | method | `Function ComLoadBd cComChilkatBinData bd Returns Boolean` | | `LoadBinary` | method | `Function ComLoadBinary Variant derBytes Returns Boolean` | | `LoadBinaryFile` | method | `Function ComLoadBinaryFile String path Returns Boolean` | | `LoadEncoded` | method | `Function ComLoadEncoded String asnContent String encoding Returns Boolean` | | `SetEncodedContent` | method | `Function ComSetEncodedContent String encodedBytes String encoding Returns Boolean` | | `WriteBd` | method | `Function ComWriteBd cComChilkatBinData bd Returns Boolean` | | `WriteBinaryDer` | method | `Function ComWriteBinaryDer String path Returns Boolean` | ## Properties ### Asn.BoolValue `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · BoolValue · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComBoolValue Returns Boolean Procedure Set ComBoolValue Boolean value ``` The ASN.1 item's boolean value if it is a boolean item. ### Asn.Constructed `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · Constructed · property · read-only · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComConstructed Returns Boolean ``` `True` if this ASN.1 item is a constructed item. Sequence and Set items are constructed and can contain sub-items. All other tags (boolean, integer, octets, utf8String, etc.) are primitive (non-constructed). ### Asn.ContentStr `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · ContentStr · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComContentStr Returns String Procedure Set ComContentStr String value ``` The ASN.1 item's content if it is an ASN.1 string type (such as Utf8String, BmpString, PrintableString, VisibleString, T61String, IA5String, NumericString, or UniversalString). ### Asn.IntValue `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · IntValue · property · read/write · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComIntValue Returns Integer Procedure Set ComIntValue Integer value ``` The ASN.1 item's integer value if it is a small integer item. ### Asn.NumSubItems `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · NumSubItems · property · read-only · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComNumSubItems Returns Integer ``` The number of sub-items contained within this ASN.1 item. Only constructed items, such as Sequence and Set will contain sub-iitems. Primitive items such as OIDs, octet strings, integers, etc. will never contain sub-items. ### Asn.Tag `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · Tag · property · read-only · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComTag Returns String ``` The ASN.1 item's tag as a descriptive string. Possible values are: ``` boolean integer bitString octets null oid utf8String relativeOid sequence set numericString printableString t61String ia5String utcTime bmpString ``` ### Asn.TagValue `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · TagValue · property · read-only · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComTagValue Returns Integer ``` The ASN.1 item's tag as a integer value. The integer values for possible tags are as follows: ``` boolean (1) integer (2) bitString (3) octets (4) null (5) oid (6) utf8String (12) relativeOid (13) sequence (16) set (17) numericString (18) printableString (19) t61String (20) ia5String (22) utcTime (23) bmpString (30) ``` ## Methods ### Asn.AppendBigInt `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendBigInt · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendBigInt String encodedBytes String encoding Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 integer, but one that is a big (huge) integer that is too large to be represented by an integer variable. The bytes composing the integer are passed in encoded string format (such as base64, hex, etc.). The byte order must be big-endian. The `encoding` may be any of the following encodings: `Base64`, `Hex`, `Base58`, `modBase64`, `Base32`, `UU`, `QP` (for quoted-printable), `URL` (for url-encoding), `Q`, `B`, `url_oath`, `url_rfc1738`, `url_rfc2396`, and `url_rfc3986`. The `encoding` name is case insensitive (for example, both `Base64` and `base64` are treated the same). Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendBits `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendBits · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendBits String encodedBytes String encoding Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 bit string to the caller's sub-items. The bytes containing the bits are passed in encoded string format (such as base64, hex, etc.). The byte order must be big-endian (MSB first). The `encoding` may be any of the following encodings: `Base64`, `Hex`, `Base58`, `modBase64`, `Base32`, `UU`, `QP` (for quoted-printable), `URL` (for url-encoding), `Q`, `B`, `url_oath`, `url_rfc1738`, `url_rfc2396`, and `url_rfc3986`. The `encoding` name is case insensitive (for example, both `Base64` and `base64` are treated the same). Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendBool `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendBool · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendBool Boolean value Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 boolean item to the caller's sub-items. Items may only be appended to constructed data types such as Sequence and Set. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendContextConstructed `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendContextConstructed · method · since 9.5.0.50` ```dataflex Function ComAppendContextConstructed Integer tag Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 context-specific constructed item to the caller's sub-items. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendContextPrimitive `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendContextPrimitive · method · since 9.5.0.50` ```dataflex Function ComAppendContextPrimitive Integer tag String encodedBytes String encoding Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 context-specific primitive item to the caller's sub-items. The bytes are passed in encoded string format (such as base64, hex, etc.). The `encoding` may be any of the following encodings: `Base64`, `Hex`, `Base58`, `modBase64`, `Base32`, `UU`, `QP` (for quoted-printable), `URL` (for url-encoding), `Q`, `B`, `url_oath`, `url_rfc1738`, `url_rfc2396`, and `url_rfc3986`. The `encoding` name is case insensitive (for example, both `Base64` and `base64` are treated the same). Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendInt `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendInt · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendInt Integer value Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 integer item to the caller's sub-items. Items may only be appended to constructed data types such as Sequence and Set. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendNull `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendNull · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendNull Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 null item to the caller's sub-items. Items may only be appended to constructed data types such as Sequence and Set. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendOctets `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendOctets · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendOctets String encodedBytes String encoding Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 octet string to the caller's sub-items. The bytes are passed in encoded string format (such as base64, hex, etc.). The `encoding` may be any of the following encodings: `Base64`, `Hex`, `Base58`, `modBase64`, `Base32`, `UU`, `QP` (for quoted-printable), `URL` (for url-encoding), `Q`, `B`, `url_oath`, `url_rfc1738`, `url_rfc2396`, and `url_rfc3986`. The `encoding` name is case insensitive (for example, both `Base64` and `base64` are treated the same). Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendOid `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendOid · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendOid String oid Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 OID (object identifier) to the caller's sub-items. The OID is passed in string form, such as `1.2.840.113549.1.9.1`. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendSequence `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendSequence · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendSequence Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 sequence item to the caller's sub-items. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendSequence2 `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendSequence2 · method · since 9.5.0.50` ```dataflex Function ComAppendSequence2 Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 sequence item to the caller's sub-items, and updates the internal reference to point to the newly appended sequence item. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendSequenceR `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendSequenceR · method · since 9.5.0.50` ```dataflex Function ComAppendSequenceR Returns cComChilkatAsn ``` Appends an ASN.1 sequence item to the caller's sub-items, and returns the newly appended sequence item. Returns `null` on failure ### Asn.AppendSet `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendSet · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendSet Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 set item to the caller's sub-items. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendSet2 `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendSet2 · method · since 9.5.0.50` ```dataflex Function ComAppendSet2 Returns Boolean ``` Appends an ASN.1 set item to the caller's sub-items, and updates the internal reference to point to the newly appended set item. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendSetR `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendSetR · method · since 9.5.0.50` ```dataflex Function ComAppendSetR Returns cComChilkatAsn ``` Appends an ASN.1 set item to the caller's sub-items, and returns the newly appended set item. Returns `null` on failure ### Asn.AppendString `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendString · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendString String strType String value Returns Boolean ``` Appends a string item to the caller's sub-items. The `strType` specifies the type of string to be added. It may be `utf8`, `ia5`, `t61`, `printable`, `visible`, `numeric`, `universal`, or `bmp`. The `value` must conform to the ASN.1 restrictions imposed for a given string type. The `utf8`, `bmp`, and `universal` types have no restrictions on what characters are allowed. In general, unless a specific type of string is required, choose the `utf8` type. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AppendTime `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AppendTime · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAppendTime String timeFormat String dateTimeStr Returns Boolean ``` Appends a UTCTime item to the caller's sub-items. The `timeFormat` specifies the format of the `dateTimeStr`. It should be set to `utc`. (In the future, this method will be expanded to append GeneralizedTime items by using `generalized` for `timeFormat`.) To append the current date/time, set `dateTimeStr` equal to the empty string or the keyword `now`. Otherwise, the `dateTimeStr` should be in the UTC time format `YYMMDDhhmm[ss]Z` or `YYMMDDhhmm[ss](+|-)hhmm`. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.AsnToXml `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · AsnToXml · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComAsnToXml Returns String ``` Converts ASN.1 to XML and returns the XML string. Returns `null` on failure ### Asn.DeleteSubItem `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · DeleteSubItem · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComDeleteSubItem Integer index Returns Boolean ``` Discards the Nth sub-item. (The 1st sub-item is at index 0.) Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.GetBinaryDer `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · GetBinaryDer · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComGetBinaryDer Returns Variant ``` Returns the ASN.1 in binary DER form. Returns `null` on failure ### Asn.GetEncodedContent `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · GetEncodedContent · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComGetEncodedContent String encoding Returns String ``` Returns the content of the ASN.1 item in encoded string form. The `encoding` may be any of the following encodings: `Base64`, `Hex`, `Base58`, `modBase64`, `Base32`, `UU`, `QP` (for quoted-printable), `URL` (for url-encoding), `Q`, `B`, `url_oath`, `url_rfc1738`, `url_rfc2396`, and `url_rfc3986`. The `encoding` name is case insensitive (for example, both `Base64` and `base64` are treated the same). Returns `null` on failure ### Asn.GetEncodedDer `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · GetEncodedDer · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComGetEncodedDer String encoding Returns String ``` Returns the binary DER in encoded string form. The `encoding` indicates the encoding and can be `base64`, `hex`, `uu`, `quoted-printable`, `base32`, or `modbase64`. Returns `null` on failure ### Asn.GetLastSubItem `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · GetLastSubItem · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComGetLastSubItem Returns cComChilkatAsn ``` Returns the last ASN.1 sub-item. This method can be called immediately after any Append\* method to access the appended item. Returns `null` on failure ### Asn.GetSubItem `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · GetSubItem · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComGetSubItem Integer index Returns cComChilkatAsn ``` Returns the Nth ASN.1 sub-item. The 1st sub-item is at index 0. Returns `null` on failure ### Asn.LoadAsnXml `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · LoadAsnXml · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComLoadAsnXml String xmlStr Returns Boolean ``` Loads ASN.1 from the XML representation (such as that created by the AsnToXml method). Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.LoadBd `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · LoadBd · method · since 9.5.0.77` ```dataflex Function ComLoadBd cComChilkatBinData bd Returns Boolean ``` Loads ASN.1 from the binary DER contained in `bd`. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.LoadBinary `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · LoadBinary · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComLoadBinary Variant derBytes Returns Boolean ``` Loads ASN.1 from binary DER. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.LoadBinaryFile `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · LoadBinaryFile · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComLoadBinaryFile String path Returns Boolean ``` Loads ASN.1 from a binary DER file. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.LoadEncoded `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · LoadEncoded · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComLoadEncoded String asnContent String encoding Returns Boolean ``` Loads ASN.1 from an encoded string. The `encoding` can be `base64`, `hex`, `uu`, `quoted-printable`, `base32`, or `modbase64`. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.SetEncodedContent `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · SetEncodedContent · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComSetEncodedContent String encodedBytes String encoding Returns Boolean ``` Sets the content of this primitive ASN.1 item. The `encoding` may be any of the following encodings: `Base64`, `Hex`, `Base58`, `modBase64`, `Base32`, `UU`, `QP` (for quoted-printable), `URL` (for url-encoding), `Q`, `B`, `url_oath`, `url_rfc1738`, `url_rfc2396`, and `url_rfc3986`. The `encoding` name is case insensitive (for example, both `Base64` and `base64` are treated the same). Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.WriteBd `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · WriteBd · method · since 9.5.0.77` ```dataflex Function ComWriteBd cComChilkatBinData bd Returns Boolean ``` Appends the ASN.1 in binary DER format to `bd`. Returns True for success, False for failure. ### Asn.WriteBinaryDer `Chilkat 11.7.0 · dataflex · Asn · WriteBinaryDer · method · since 9.5.0.49` ```dataflex Function ComWriteBinaryDer String path Returns Boolean ``` Writes the ASN.1 in binary DER form to a file. Returns True for success, False for failure. ## Related classes [`BinData`](https://www.chilkatsoft.com/ai-docs/v/11.7.0/dataflex/classes/BinData.md)