Class OpenPGPCertificate

java.lang.Object
org.bouncycastle.openpgp.api.OpenPGPCertificate
Direct Known Subclasses:
OpenPGPKey

public class OpenPGPCertificate extends Object
OpenPGP certificates (TPKs - transferable public keys) are long-living structures that may change during their lifetime. A key-holder may add new components like subkeys or identities, along with associated binding self-signatures to the certificate and old components may expire / get revoked at some point. Since any such changes may have an influence on whether a data signature is valid at a given time, or what subkey should be used when generating an encrypted / signed message, an API is needed that provides a view on the certificate that takes into consideration a relevant window in time.

Compared to a PGPPublicKeyRing, an OpenPGPCertificate has been evaluated at (or rather for) a given evaluation time. It offers a clean API for accessing the key-holder's preferences at a specific point in time and makes sure, that relevant self-signatures on certificate components are validated and verified.

See Also: