Pem Lianja Reference Documentation

Pem

Current Version: 9.5.0.98

For creating, loading, parsing, converting, and saving in the PEM format.

Note: There are many types of objects that can be stored in PEM format. Chilkat supports certificates, private keys, and public keys. There is still much more to do. If there is a need to support a particular type of content, contact Chilkat (support@chilkatsoft.com).

Object Creation

loObject = createobject("CkPem")

Properties

AppendMode
AppendMode As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

When set to .T., each of the Load* methods appends to the current contents of this PEM object. When set to .F., a Load* method replaces the contents of this PEM object. The default is .F..

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DebugLogFilePath
DebugLogFilePath As Character

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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LastErrorHtml
LastErrorHtml As Character (read-only)

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
LastErrorText As Character (read-only)

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
LastErrorXml As Character (read-only)

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
LastMethodSuccess As Boolean

Indicate whether the last method call succeeded or failed. A value of .T. indicates success, a value of .F. 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 = .T. and failure = .F..
  • 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 .T.. For example, a method that returns no value (such as a "void" in C++) will technically always succeed.

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NumCerts
NumCerts As Numeric (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

The number of certificates in the loaded PEM. To get the 1st certificate, call GetCert(0).

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NumCrls
NumCrls As Numeric (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.77

The number of certificate revocation lists (CRLs) in the loaded PEM.

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NumCsrs
NumCsrs As Numeric (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.50

The number of certificate signing requests (CSRs) in the loaded PEM.

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NumPrivateKeys
NumPrivateKeys As Numeric (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

The number of private keys in the loaded PEM. To get the 1st private key, call GetPrivateKey(0).

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NumPublicKeys
NumPublicKeys As Numeric (read-only)
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

The number of public keys in the loaded PEM. To get the 1st public key, call GetPublicKey(0).

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PrivateKeyFormat
PrivateKeyFormat As Character
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Controls the format to be used for unencrypted private keys when writing a PEM. Possible values are "pkcs1" and "pkcs8". (OpenSSL typically uses the "pkcs8" format.) When writing encrypted private keys to PEM, the format is always PKCS8, and the PEM header is "BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY". The default is "pkcs8".

The PKCS1 format uses the PEM header: BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY.
The PKCS8 format uses the PEM header: BEGIN PRIVATE KEY.

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PublicKeyFormat
PublicKeyFormat As Character
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Controls the format to be used for public keys when writing a PEM. Possible values are "pkcs1" and "pkcs8". (OpenSSL typically uses the "pkcs8" format.) The default is "pkcs8".

The PKCS1 format uses the PEM header: BEGIN RSA PUBLIC KEY.
The PKCS8 format uses the PEM header: BEGIN PUBLIC KEY.

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VerboseLogging
VerboseLogging As Boolean

If set to .T., then the contents of LastErrorText (or LastErrorXml, or LastErrorHtml) may contain more verbose information. The default value is .F.. Verbose logging should only be used for debugging. The potentially large quantity of logged information may adversely affect peformance.

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Version
Version As Character (read-only)

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

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Methods

AddCert
AddCert(cert As CkCert, includeChain As Boolean) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Adds a certificate, and potentially the certs in its chain of authentication to the PEM. If includeChain is .T., then certificates in the cert's chain of authentication up to and including the root are automatically added.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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AddItem
AddItem(itemType As Character, encoding As Character, itemData As Character) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.59

Adds a certificate, private key, public key, or csr to the PEM. The possible values for itemType are "certificate" (or "cert"), "privateKey", "publicKey", or "csr". The encoding can be "Base64", "modBase64", "Base32", "QP" (for quoted-printable), "URL" (for url-encoding), "Hex", "url_oauth", "url_rfc1738", "url_rfc2396", and "url_rfc3986". The itemData contains the ASN.1 data in string format according to the encoding specified in encoding.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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AddPrivateKey
AddPrivateKey(privateKey As CkPrivateKey) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Adds a private key to the PEM object.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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AddPrivateKey2
AddPrivateKey2(privKey As CkPrivateKey, certChain As CkCertChain) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Adds a private key and it's associated certificate chain to the PEM object.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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AddPublicKey
AddPublicKey(pubkey As CkPublicKey) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Adds a public key to the PEM object.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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Clear
Clear() As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Removes all content from this PEM object.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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GetCert
GetCert(index As Numeric) As CkCert
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Returns the Nth certificate from the PEM. The first certificate is at index 0.

Returns .F. on failure

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GetEncodedItem
GetEncodedItem(itemType As Character, itemSubType As Character, encoding As Character, index As Numeric) As Character
Introduced in version 9.5.0.50

Returns the encoded contents of the Nth item of a particular type (0-based index). The possible values for itemType are "certificate" (or "cert"), "privateKey", "publicKey", or "csr". Input string args are case-insensitive. If the itemType is "privateKey", the itemSubType may be "der" or "pkcs8". If the itemType is "publicKey", the itemSubType may be "der" or "pkcs1". The itemSubType is ignored for other values of itemType. The valid encoding modes are "Base64", "modBase64", "Base32", "Base58", "QP" (for quoted-printable), "URL" (for url-encoding), "Hex", "url_oauth", "url_rfc1738", "url_rfc2396", and "url_rfc3986".

Returns .F. on failure

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GetPrivateKey
GetPrivateKey(index As Numeric) As CkPrivateKey
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Returns the Nth private key from the PEM. The first private key is at index 0.

Returns .F. on failure

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GetPublicKey
GetPublicKey(index As Numeric) As CkPublicKey
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Returns the Nth public key from the PEM. The first public key is at index 0.

Returns .F. on failure

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LoadP7bFile
LoadP7bFile(path As Character) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Loads the contents of a PKCS7 container (.p7b file).

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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LoadP7bFileAsync (1)
LoadP7bFileAsync(path As Character) As CkTask
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Creates an asynchronous task to call the LoadP7bFile method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)

Returns .F. on failure

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LoadPem
LoadPem(pemContent As Character, password As Character) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Loads the PEM from a PEM string. If encrypted, then the password is required for decryption. Otherwise, an empty string (or any string) may be passed for the password.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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LoadPemAsync (1)
LoadPemAsync(pemContent As Character, password As Character) As CkTask
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Creates an asynchronous task to call the LoadPem method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)

Returns .F. on failure

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LoadPemFile
LoadPemFile(path As Character, password As Character) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Loads the PEM from a PEM file. If encrypted, then the password is required for decryption. Otherwise, an empty string (or any string) may be passed for the password.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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LoadPemFileAsync (1)
LoadPemFileAsync(path As Character, password As Character) As CkTask
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Creates an asynchronous task to call the LoadPemFile method with the arguments provided. (Async methods are available starting in Chilkat v9.5.0.52.)

Returns .F. on failure

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LoadTaskCaller
LoadTaskCaller(task As CkTask) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.80

Loads the caller of the task's async method.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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RemoveCert
RemoveCert(index As Numeric) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Removes the Nth certificate from the PEM. The first certificate is at index 0.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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RemovePrivateKey
RemovePrivateKey(index As Numeric) As Boolean
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Removes the Nth private key from the PEM. The first private key is at index 0.

Returns .T. for success, .F. for failure.

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ToJks
ToJks(alias As Character, password As Character) As CkJavaKeyStore
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Converts the PEM to JKS and returns the Java KeyStore object. If the alias is non-empty, the 1st object (private key or certificate) will use the alias, and all others (if any) will receive auto-generated aliases. The JKS returned will be encrypted using the provided password. If the PEM contains only certificates (no private keys), then the password is unused.

Returns .F. on failure

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ToPem
ToPem() As Character
Introduced in version 9.5.0.47

Write the PFX to a PEM formatted string. The resultant PEM will contain the private key, as well as the certs in the chain of authentication (or whatever certs are available in the PFX). For example:

 -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
...
... the private key associated with the main certificate.
...
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... the main certificate
...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... an intermediate CA certificate (if present)
...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... the root CA certificate
...
-----END CERTIFICATE----- 

Returns .F. on failure

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ToPemEx
ToPemEx(extendedAttrs As Boolean, noKeys As Boolean, noCerts As Boolean, noCaCerts As Boolean, encryptAlg As Character, password As Character) As Character
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Write the PFX to a PEM formatted string. If extendedAttrs is .T., then extended properties (Bag Attributes and Key Attributes) are output. If noKeys is .T., then no private keys are output. If noCerts is .T., then no certificates are output. If noCaCerts is .T., then no CA certs or intermediate CA certs are output. If encryptAlg is not empty, it indicates the encryption algorithm to be used for encrypting the private keys (otherwise the private keys are output unencrypted). The possible choices for the encryptAlg are "des3", "aes128", "aes192", and "aes256". (All encryption algorithm choices use CBC mode.) If the private keys are to be encrypted, then password is the password to be used. Otherwise, password may be left empty. For example:

Bag Attributes
    Microsoft Local Key set: <No Values>
    localKeyID: 01 00 00 00 
    friendlyName: le-2b09a3d2-9037-4a05-95cc-4d44518e8607
    Microsoft CSP Name: Microsoft RSA SChannel Cryptographic Provider
Key Attributes
    X509v3 Key Usage: 10 
 -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
...
... the private key associated with the main certificate.
...
-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
Bag Attributes
    localKeyID: 01 00 00 00 
    1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.92: 00 08 00 00 
    1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.20: C2 53 54 F3 ...
    1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.71: 49 00 43 00 ...
    1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.75: 31 00 42 00 ...
subject=/OU=Domain Control Validated/OU=PositiveSSL/CN=something.com
issuer=/C=GB/ST=Greater Manchester/L=Salford/O=COMODO CA Limited/CN=COMODO RSA Domain Validation Secure Server CA
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... the main certificate
...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
...
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... an intermediate CA certificate (if present)
...
-----END CERTIFICATE-----
...
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----
...
... the root CA certificate
...
-----END CERTIFICATE----- 

Returns .F. on failure

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ToPfx
ToPfx() As CkPfx
Introduced in version 9.5.0.49

Converts the PEM to PKCS12 and returns the PFX object. The PFX object has method for saving to a file, exporting to an encoded string, converting to a JKS (Java Keystore), or even converting back to PEM.

Note: The PEM must contain at least one private key to convert to PKCS12. The typical case is that a PKCS12 contains a single private key, along with the associated certificate and the certificates in the chain of authentication.

Returns .F. on failure

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