public class CertPathBuilder
extends Object

A class for building certification paths (also known as certificate chains).

This class uses a provider-based architecture. To create a CertPathBuilder, call one of the static getInstance methods, passing in the algorithm name of the CertPathBuilder desired and optionally the name of the provider desired.

Once a CertPathBuilder object has been created, certification paths can be constructed by calling the build method and passing it an algorithm-specific set of parameters. If successful, the result (including the CertPath that was built) is returned in an object that implements the CertPathBuilderResult interface.

The getRevocationChecker() method allows an application to specify additional algorithm-specific parameters and options used by the CertPathBuilder when checking the revocation status of certificates. Here is an example demonstrating how it is used with the PKIX algorithm:

CertPathBuilder cpb = CertPathBuilder.getInstance("PKIX");
 PKIXRevocationChecker rc = (PKIXRevocationChecker)cpb.getRevocationChecker();
 rc.setOptions(EnumSet.of(Option.PREFER_CRLS));
 params.addCertPathChecker(rc);
 CertPathBuilderResult cpbr = cpb.build(params);

Every implementation of the Java platform is required to support the following standard CertPathBuilder algorithm:

• PKIX

This algorithm is described in the CertPathBuilder section of the Java Cryptography Architecture Standard Algorithm Name Documentation. Consult the release documentation for your implementation to see if any other algorithms are supported.

Concurrent Access

The static methods of this class are guaranteed to be thread-safe. Multiple threads may concurrently invoke the static methods defined in this class with no ill effects.

However, this is not true for the non-static methods defined by this class. Unless otherwise documented by a specific provider, threads that need to access a single CertPathBuilder instance concurrently should synchronize amongst themselves and provide the necessary locking. Multiple threads each manipulating a different CertPathBuilder instance need not synchronize.

protected CertPathBuilder(CertPathBuilderSpi builderSpi,
                          Provider provider,
                          String algorithm)

public static CertPathBuilder getInstance(String algorithm)
                                   throws NoSuchAlgorithmException

Returns a CertPathBuilder object that implements the specified algorithm.

This method traverses the list of registered security Providers, starting with the most preferred Provider. A new CertPathBuilder object encapsulating the CertPathBuilderSpi implementation from the first Provider that supports the specified algorithm is returned.

Note that the list of registered providers may be retrieved via the Security.getProviders() method.

public static CertPathBuilder getInstance(String algorithm,
                                          String provider)
                                   throws NoSuchAlgorithmException,
                                          NoSuchProviderException

Returns a CertPathBuilder object that implements the specified algorithm.

A new CertPathBuilder object encapsulating the CertPathBuilderSpi implementation from the specified provider is returned. The specified provider must be registered in the security provider list.

Note that the list of registered providers may be retrieved via the Security.getProviders() method.

public static CertPathBuilder getInstance(String algorithm,
                                          Provider provider)
                                   throws NoSuchAlgorithmException

Returns a CertPathBuilder object that implements the specified algorithm.

A new CertPathBuilder object encapsulating the CertPathBuilderSpi implementation from the specified Provider object is returned. Note that the specified Provider object does not have to be registered in the provider list.

public final Provider getProvider()

public final String getAlgorithm()

public final CertPathBuilderResult build(CertPathParameters params)
                                  throws CertPathBuilderException,
                                         InvalidAlgorithmParameterException

public static final String getDefaultType()

Returns the default CertPathBuilder type as specified by the certpathbuilder.type security property, or the string "PKIX" if no such property exists.

The default CertPathBuilder type can be used by applications that do not want to use a hard-coded type when calling one of the getInstance methods, and want to provide a default type in case a user does not specify its own.

The default CertPathBuilder type can be changed by setting the value of the certpathbuilder.type security property to the desired type.

public final CertPathChecker getRevocationChecker()

Returns a CertPathChecker that the encapsulated CertPathBuilderSpi implementation uses to check the revocation status of certificates. A PKIX implementation returns objects of type PKIXRevocationChecker. Each invocation of this method returns a new instance of CertPathChecker.

The primary purpose of this method is to allow callers to specify additional input parameters and options specific to revocation checking. See the class description for an example.