Algorithm Names in JavaSecurity

Introduction

To support algorithm independence, JavaSecurity defines a set of standard algorithm names which map onto well-defined implementations of standard algorithms. Implementors of algorithms should use the standard names whenever they are defined, and should only define new ones when none exist for the algorithm.

Some of the naming conventions are:

• Names are that of algorithms as defined in standards, not of standards themselves (i.e. DSA not DSS).
• Names should be initials as much as possible (i.e. SHA, not Secure Hash Algorithm)
• Names are unicode names, and should be capitalized.
• Names should be kept as short as possible.

Algorithm Names

SHA

Secure Hash Algorithm, as defined in NIST's Secure Hash Standard document, fip-180-1.

DSA

Digital Signature Algorithm, as defined in NIST's Digital Signature Standard document, fip-186. DSA by itself means SHAwithDSA, that is, DSA with SHA-1. raw DSA is defined as Raw DSA.

RSA

Rivest, Shamir and Adleman public key system. RSA Encryption as define in RSA Laboratory Technical Note PKCS#1.

MD5

RSA-MD5, as defined by RSA DSI in RFC 1321.

MD2

RSA-MD2, as defined by RSA DSI in RFC 1423.

Composite names, built from a asymmetric transformation and a message digest, should be linked with a lower case with, hash algorithm first:

• SHAwithDSA
• MD5withDSA
• MD5withRSA
• MD2withRSA
• SHAwithRSA
• etc.

[Add bulk encryption algorithm later]