DataFlex

Export a PKCS #8 Private Key as Encoded Text

Demonstrates the Chilkat PrivateKey.GetPkcs8ENC method, which exports the key as unencrypted PKCS #8 DER and encodes the DER bytes as text. The only argument names the binary encoding, such as base64 or hex.

Note: The file paths are relative to the application's current working directory. Absolute paths may also be used. Supply the paths appropriate to your own environment.

Background: DER is the compact binary form of a key; this method hands it back as encoded text so it can travel through channels that expect a string — a JSON field, a database column, a config value. It is the string-returning alternative to writing raw DER bytes, and choosing base64 versus hex is just a matter of what the consumer expects. The DER itself is unencrypted, so the encoded text is still sensitive.

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DataFlex

Use ChilkatAx-win32.pkg

Procedure Test
    Boolean iSuccess
    Handle hoPrivKey
    String sEncoded
    String sTemp1
    Boolean bTemp1

    Move False To iSuccess

    //  Load a private key to export.
    Get Create (RefClass(cComChilkatPrivateKey)) To hoPrivKey
    If (Not(IsComObjectCreated(hoPrivKey))) Begin
        Send CreateComObject of hoPrivKey
    End
    Get ComLoadPemFile Of hoPrivKey "qa_data/private.pem" To iSuccess
    If (iSuccess = False) Begin
        Get ComLastErrorText Of hoPrivKey To sTemp1
        Showln sTemp1
        Procedure_Return
    End

    //  Export as unencrypted PKCS #8 DER, then encode the DER bytes as text.  The only argument names
    //  the binary encoding, such as "base64" or "hex".
    Get ComGetPkcs8ENC Of hoPrivKey "base64" To sEncoded
    Get ComLastMethodSuccess Of hoPrivKey To bTemp1
    If (bTemp1 = False) Begin
        Get ComLastErrorText Of hoPrivKey To sTemp1
        Showln sTemp1
        Procedure_Return
    End

    Showln sEncoded


End_Procedure