package gnu.crypto.key;

// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
// $Id: IKeyPairGenerator.java,v 1.2 2005/10/06 04:24:16 rsdio Exp $
//
// Copyright (C) 2001, 2002, Free Software Foundation, Inc.
//
// This file is part of GNU Crypto.
//
// GNU Crypto is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
// the Free Software Foundation; either version 2, or (at your option)
// any later version.
//
// GNU Crypto is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
// WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
// General Public License for more details.
//
// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
// along with this program; see the file COPYING.  If not, write to the
//
//    Free Software Foundation Inc.,
//    51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor,
//    Boston, MA 02110-1301
//    USA
//
// Linking this library statically or dynamically with other modules is
// making a combined work based on this library.  Thus, the terms and
// conditions of the GNU General Public License cover the whole
// combination.
//
// As a special exception, the copyright holders of this library give
// you permission to link this library with independent modules to
// produce an executable, regardless of the license terms of these
// independent modules, and to copy and distribute the resulting
// executable under terms of your choice, provided that you also meet,
// for each linked independent module, the terms and conditions of the
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// ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

import java.security.KeyPair;
import java.util.Map;

/**
 * The visible methods of every asymmetric keypair generator.<p>
 *
 * @version $Revision: 1.2 $
 */
public interface IKeyPairGenerator {

   // Constants
   // -------------------------------------------------------------------------

   // Methods
   // -------------------------------------------------------------------------

   /**
    * Returns the canonical name of this keypair generator.<p>
    *
    * @return the canonical name of this instance.
    */
   String name();

   /**
    * [Re]-initialises this instance for use with a given set of attributes.<p>
    *
    * @param attributes a map of name/value pairs to use for setting up the
    * instance.
    * @exception IllegalArgumentException if at least one of the mandatory
    * attributes is missing or an invalid value was specified.
    */
   void setup(Map attributes);

   /**
    * Generates a new keypair based on the attributes used to configure the
    * instance.
    *
    * @return a new keypair.
    */
   KeyPair generate();
}