Load a Private Key from BinData (Any Format)

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Demonstrates the Chilkat PrivateKey.LoadAnyFormat method, which loads a private key by inspecting the bytes in a BinData. The first argument is the BinData and the second is the password (used if the detected key is encrypted).

Note: The file path is relative to the application's current working directory. Absolute paths may also be used. Supply the path to your own key file.

Background: When you have key bytes in memory but do not know their exact format — downloaded, decrypted, or pulled from a database — this figures it out for you, recognizing PKCS #1/#8 DER, encrypted PKCS #8, PEM, JWK, Chilkat XML, Microsoft formats, and more. It removes the guesswork of choosing a specific loader, at the small cost of the detection step. Supply the password so it can decrypt an encrypted key without a second call.

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#include <C_CkBinData.h>
#include <C_CkPrivateKey.h>

void ChilkatSample(void)
    {
    BOOL success;
    HCkBinData bd;
    HCkPrivateKey privKey;
    const char *password;

    success = FALSE;

    //  Demonstrates the PrivateKey.LoadAnyFormat method, which loads a private key by inspecting the
    //  bytes in a BinData.  The 1st argument is the BinData and the 2nd is the password (used if the
    //  detected key is encrypted).

    bd = CkBinData_Create();
    success = CkBinData_LoadFile(bd,"qa_data/some_private_key");
    if (success == FALSE) {
        printf("%s\n",CkBinData_lastErrorText(bd));
        CkBinData_Dispose(bd);
        return;
    }

    privKey = CkPrivateKey_Create();

    //  The key password is not hard-coded in a real application; obtain it from an interactive
    //  prompt, environment variable, or a secrets vault.
    password = "myKeyPassword";

    //  Chilkat auto-detects the representation: PKCS #1/#8 DER, encrypted PKCS #8, PEM, JWK,
    //  Chilkat XML, Microsoft formats, and more.
    success = CkPrivateKey_LoadAnyFormat(privKey,bd,password);
    if (success == FALSE) {
        printf("%s\n",CkPrivateKey_lastErrorText(privKey));
        CkBinData_Dispose(bd);
        CkPrivateKey_Dispose(privKey);
        return;
    }

    printf("Loaded a %s private key.\n",CkPrivateKey_keyType(privKey));


    CkBinData_Dispose(bd);
    CkPrivateKey_Dispose(privKey);

    }