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PKIXBuilderParameters.javaAPI DocJava SE 5 API7747Fri Aug 26 14:57:16 BST 2005java.security.cert

PKIXBuilderParameters

public class PKIXBuilderParameters extends PKIXParameters
Parameters used as input for the PKIX CertPathBuilder algorithm.

A PKIX CertPathBuilder uses these parameters to {@link CertPathBuilder#build build} a CertPath which has been validated according to the PKIX certification path validation algorithm.

To instantiate a PKIXBuilderParameters object, an application must specify one or more most-trusted CAs as defined by the PKIX certification path validation algorithm. The most-trusted CA can be specified using one of two constructors. An application can call {@link #PKIXBuilderParameters(Set, CertSelector) PKIXBuilderParameters(Set, CertSelector)}, specifying a Set of TrustAnchor objects, each of which identifies a most-trusted CA. Alternatively, an application can call {@link #PKIXBuilderParameters(KeyStore, CertSelector) PKIXBuilderParameters(KeyStore, CertSelector)}, specifying a KeyStore instance containing trusted certificate entries, each of which will be considered as a most-trusted CA.

In addition, an application must specify constraints on the target certificate that the CertPathBuilder will attempt to build a path to. The constraints are specified as a CertSelector object. These constraints should provide the CertPathBuilder with enough search criteria to find the target certificate. Minimal criteria for an X509Certificate usually include the subject name and/or one or more subject alternative names. If enough criteria is not specified, the CertPathBuilder may throw a CertPathBuilderException.

Concurrent Access

Unless otherwise specified, the methods defined in this class are not thread-safe. Multiple threads that need to access a single object concurrently should synchronize amongst themselves and provide the necessary locking. Multiple threads each manipulating separate objects need not synchronize.

see
CertPathBuilder
version
1.15 12/19/03
since
1.4
author
Sean Mullan

Fields Summary
private int
maxPathLength
Constructors Summary
public PKIXBuilderParameters(Set trustAnchors, CertSelector targetConstraints)
Creates an instance of PKIXBuilderParameters with the specified Set of most-trusted CAs. Each element of the set is a {@link TrustAnchor TrustAnchor}.

Note that the Set is copied to protect against subsequent modifications.

param
trustAnchors a Set of TrustAnchors
param
targetConstraints a CertSelector specifying the constraints on the target certificate
throws
InvalidAlgorithmParameterException if trustAnchors is empty (trustAnchors.isEmpty() == true)
throws
NullPointerException if trustAnchors is null
throws
ClassCastException if any of the elements of trustAnchors are not of type java.security.cert.TrustAnchor


                                                                                              
        
	  
    
        super(trustAnchors);
	setTargetCertConstraints(targetConstraints);
public PKIXBuilderParameters(KeyStore keystore, CertSelector targetConstraints)
Creates an instance of PKIXBuilderParameters that populates the set of most-trusted CAs from the trusted certificate entries contained in the specified KeyStore. Only keystore entries that contain trusted X509Certificates are considered; all other certificate types are ignored.

param
keystore a KeyStore from which the set of most-trusted CAs will be populated
param
targetConstraints a CertSelector specifying the constraints on the target certificate
throws
KeyStoreException if keystore has not been initialized
throws
InvalidAlgorithmParameterException if keystore does not contain at least one trusted certificate entry
throws
NullPointerException if keystore is null

	super(keystore);
	setTargetCertConstraints(targetConstraints);
Methods Summary
public intgetMaxPathLength()
Returns the value of the maximum number of intermediate non-self-issued certificates that may exist in a certification path. See the {@link #setMaxPathLength} method for more details.

return
the maximum number of non-self-issued intermediate certificates that may exist in a certification path, or -1 if there is no limit
see
#setMaxPathLength

        return maxPathLength;
public voidsetMaxPathLength(int maxPathLength)
Sets the value of the maximum number of non-self-issued intermediate certificates that may exist in a certification path. A certificate is self-issued if the DNs that appear in the subject and issuer fields are identical and are not empty. Note that the last certificate in a certification path is not an intermediate certificate, and is not included in this limit. Usually the last certificate is an end entity certificate, but it can be a CA certificate. A PKIX CertPathBuilder instance must not build paths longer than the length specified.

A value of 0 implies that the path can only contain a single certificate. A value of -1 implies that the path length is unconstrained (i.e. there is no maximum). The default maximum path length, if not specified, is 5. Setting a value less than -1 will cause an exception to be thrown.

If any of the CA certificates contain the BasicConstraintsExtension, the value of the pathLenConstraint field of the extension overrides the maximum path length parameter whenever the result is a certification path of smaller length.

param
maxPathLength the maximum number of non-self-issued intermediate certificates that may exist in a certification path
throws
InvalidParameterException if maxPathLength is set to a value less than -1
see
#getMaxPathLength

	if (maxPathLength < -1) {
	    throw new InvalidParameterException("the maximum path "
		+ "length parameter can not be less than -1");
	}
	this.maxPathLength = maxPathLength;
public java.lang.StringtoString()
Returns a formatted string describing the parameters.

return
a formatted string describing the parameters

        StringBuffer sb = new StringBuffer();
        sb.append("[\n");
	sb.append(super.toString());
	sb.append("  Maximum Path Length: " + maxPathLength + "\n");
	sb.append("]\n");
	return sb.toString();