Class CertPath

java.lang.Object
java.security.cert.CertPath
All Implemented Interfaces:
Serializable
public abstract class CertPath extends Object implements Serializable
An immutable sequence of certificates (a certification path).

This is an abstract class that defines the methods common to all CertPaths. Subclasses can handle different kinds of certificates (X.509, PGP, etc.).

All CertPath objects have a type, a list of Certificates, and one or more supported encodings. Because the CertPath class is immutable, a CertPath cannot change in any externally visible way after being constructed. This stipulation applies to all public fields and methods of this class and any added or overridden by subclasses.

The type is a String that identifies the type of Certificates in the certification path. For each certificate cert in a certification path certPath, cert.getType().equals(certPath.getType()) must be true.

The list of Certificates is an ordered List of zero or more Certificates. This List and all of the Certificates contained in it must be immutable.

Each CertPath object must support one or more encodings so that the object can be translated into a byte array for storage or transmission to other parties. Preferably, these encodings should be well-documented standards (such as PKCS#7). One of the encodings supported by a CertPath is considered the default encoding. This encoding is used if no encoding is explicitly requested (for the getEncoded() method, for instance).

All CertPath objects are also Serializable. CertPath objects are resolved into an alternate CertPathRep object during serialization. This allows a CertPath object to be serialized into an equivalent representation regardless of its underlying implementation.

CertPath objects can be created with a CertificateFactory or they can be returned by other classes, such as a CertPathBuilder.

By convention, X.509 CertPaths (consisting of X509Certificates), are ordered starting with the target certificate and ending with a certificate issued by the trust anchor. That is, the issuer of one certificate is the subject of the following one. The certificate representing the TrustAnchor should not be included in the certification path. Unvalidated X.509 CertPaths may not follow these conventions. PKIX CertPathValidators will detect any departure from these conventions that cause the certification path to be invalid and throw a CertPathValidatorException.

Every implementation of the Java platform is required to support the following standard CertPath encodings:

  • PKCS7
  • PkiPath
These encodings are described in the CertPath Encodings section of the Java Security Standard Algorithm Names Specification. Consult the release documentation for your implementation to see if any other encodings are supported.

Concurrent Access

All CertPath objects must be thread-safe. That is, multiple threads may concurrently invoke the methods defined in this class on a single CertPath object (or more than one) with no ill effects. This is also true for the List returned by CertPath.getCertificates.

Requiring CertPath objects to be immutable and thread-safe allows them to be passed around to various pieces of code without worrying about coordinating access. Providing this thread-safety is generally not difficult, since the CertPath and List objects in question are immutable.

Since:
1.4
See Also:

  • Nested Class Summary

    Nested Classes
    Modifier and Type
    Class
    Description
    protected static class 
    CertPath.CertPathRep
    Alternate CertPath class for serialization.

  • Constructor Summary

    Constructors
    Modifier
    Constructor
    Description
    protected
    CertPath(String type)
    Creates a CertPath of the specified type.

  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    boolean
    equals(Object other)
    Compares this certification path for equality with the specified object.
    abstract List<? extends Certificate>
    getCertificates()
    Returns the list of certificates in this certification path.
    abstract byte[]
    getEncoded()
    Returns the encoded form of this certification path, using the default encoding.
    abstract byte[]
    getEncoded(String encoding)
    Returns the encoded form of this certification path, using the specified encoding.
    abstract Iterator<String>
    getEncodings()
    Returns an iteration of the encodings supported by this certification path, with the default encoding first.
    String
    getType()
    Returns the type of Certificates in this certification path.
    int
    hashCode()
    Returns the hashcode value for this certification path.
    String
    toString()
    Returns a string representation of this certification path.
    protected Object
    writeReplace()
    Replaces the CertPath to be serialized with a CertPathRep object containing the Certificate type and encoded bytes of the CertPath.

    Methods declared in class java.lang.Object

    clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait

  • Constructor Details

    • CertPath

      protected CertPath(String type)
      Creates a CertPath of the specified type.

      This constructor is protected because most users should use a CertificateFactory to create CertPaths.

      Parameters:
      type - the standard name of the type of Certificates in this path

  • Method Details

    • getType

      public String getType()
      Returns the type of Certificates in this certification path. This is the same string that would be returned by cert.getType() for all Certificates in the certification path.
      Returns:
      the type of Certificates in this certification path (never null)

    • getEncodings

      public abstract Iterator<String> getEncodings()
      Returns an iteration of the encodings supported by this certification path, with the default encoding first. Attempts to modify the returned Iterator via its remove method result in an UnsupportedOperationException.
      Returns:
      an Iterator over the names of the supported encodings (as Strings)

    • equals

      public boolean equals(Object other)
      Compares this certification path for equality with the specified object. Two CertPaths are equal if and only if their types are equal and their certificate Lists (and by implication the Certificates in those Lists) are equal. A CertPath is never equal to an object that is not a CertPath.

      This algorithm is implemented by this method. If it is overridden, the behavior specified here must be maintained.

      Overrides:
      equals in class Object
      Parameters:
      other - the object to test for equality with this certification path
      Returns:
      true if the specified object is equal to this certification path, false otherwise
      See Also:

    • hashCode

      public int hashCode()
      Returns the hashcode value for this certification path. The hash code of a certification path is defined to be the result of the following calculation: 
      
  hashCode = path.getType().hashCode();
  hashCode = 31*hashCode + path.getCertificates().hashCode();
      This ensures that path1.equals(path2) implies that path1.hashCode()==path2.hashCode() for any two certification paths, path1 and path2, as required by the general contract of Object.hashCode.
      Overrides:
      hashCode in class Object
      Returns:
      the hashcode value for this certification path
      See Also:

    • toString

      public String toString()
      Returns a string representation of this certification path. This calls the toString method on each of the Certificates in the path.
      Overrides:
      toString in class Object
      Returns:
      a string representation of this certification path

    • getEncoded

      public abstract byte[] getEncoded() throws CertificateEncodingException
      Returns the encoded form of this certification path, using the default encoding.
      Returns:
      the encoded bytes
      Throws:
      CertificateEncodingException - if an encoding error occurs

    • getEncoded

      public abstract byte[] getEncoded(String encoding) throws CertificateEncodingException
      Returns the encoded form of this certification path, using the specified encoding.
      Parameters:
      encoding - the name of the encoding to use
      Returns:
      the encoded bytes
      Throws:
      CertificateEncodingException - if an encoding error occurs or the encoding requested is not supported

    • getCertificates

      public abstract List<? extends Certificate> getCertificates()
      Returns the list of certificates in this certification path. The List returned must be immutable and thread-safe.
      Returns:
      an immutable List of Certificates (may be empty, but not null)

    • writeReplace

      protected Object writeReplace() throws ObjectStreamException
      Replaces the CertPath to be serialized with a CertPathRep object containing the Certificate type and encoded bytes of the CertPath.
      Returns:
      a CertPathRep containing the Certificate type and encoded bytes of the CertPath
      Throws:
      ObjectStreamException - if a CertPathRep object representing this certification path could not be created