Module java.base
Package java.security.cert

Class Certificate

java.lang.Object
java.security.cert.Certificate
All Implemented Interfaces:
Serializable
Direct Known Subclasses:
X509Certificate
public abstract class Certificate
extends Object
implements Serializable

Abstract class for managing a variety of identity certificates. An identity certificate is a binding of a principal to a public key which is vouched for by another principal. (A principal represents an entity such as an individual user, a group, or a corporation.)

This class is an abstraction for certificates that have different formats but important common uses. For example, different types of certificates, such as X.509 and PGP, share general certificate functionality (like encoding and verifying) and some types of information (like a public key).

X.509, PGP, and SDSI certificates can all be implemented by subclassing the Certificate class, even though they contain different sets of information, and they store and retrieve the information in different ways.

Since:
1.2
See Also:
X509Certificate, CertificateFactory, Serialized Form

  • Nested Class Summary

    Nested Classes 
    Modifier and Type Class Description
    protected static class  Certificate.CertificateRep
    Alternate Certificate class for serialization.

  • Constructor Summary

    Constructors 
    Modifier Constructor Description
    protected Certificate​(String type)
    Creates a certificate of the specified type.

  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type Method Description
    boolean equals​(Object other)
    Compares this certificate for equality with the specified object.
    abstract byte[] getEncoded()
    Returns the encoded form of this certificate.
    abstract PublicKey getPublicKey()
    Gets the public key from this certificate.
    String getType()
    Returns the type of this certificate.
    int hashCode()
    Returns a hashcode value for this certificate from its encoded form.
    abstract String toString()
    Returns a string representation of this certificate.
    abstract void verify​(PublicKey key)
    Verifies that this certificate was signed using the private key that corresponds to the specified public key.
    abstract void verify​(PublicKey key, String sigProvider)
    Verifies that this certificate was signed using the private key that corresponds to the specified public key.
    void verify​(PublicKey key, Provider sigProvider)
    Verifies that this certificate was signed using the private key that corresponds to the specified public key.
    protected Object writeReplace()
    Replace the Certificate to be serialized.

    Methods declared in class java.lang.Object

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