Instructions for using the Cryptix JCE package

Since Sun's JDK does not come with the RSA encryption algorithm, we need to install another package ("provider") that provides this. The Cryptix JCE provider is an open-source provider that fits our purpose. JCE refers to the Java Cryptography Extensions API.

We have already installed the necessary files on the system, all you need to do to use them is to run the command:

export CLASSPATH=$CLASSPATH:~cs3441/cryptix/cryptix-jce-api.jar:~cs3441/cryptix/cryptix-jce-compat.jar:~cs3441/cryptix/cryptix-jce-provider.jar:~cs3441/cryptix/cryptix-jce-tests.jar

This assumes a bash type shell, you need to modify it if you use other shells such as tcsh. You need to run this command every time you open a new terminal window, unless you add the line to your .profile or .bash_profile. The file you need to edit depends on the shell you are using We have generated the javadoc documentation for this package. You can read this documentation online, or you may download it. However, it is very poorly documented. If you wish to look at the source code, you may download the source.

To test that you have correctly set up your classpath, try to compile and run this sample code. You should be able to compile and run it without specifying any parameters. The output when running the code should be similar to this:

CryptixCrypto 1.3
Cryptix JCE Strong Crypto Provider
Original string:  Hello world
Encrypted string: [scrambled message]
Decrypted string: Hello world

If the code does not compile, or if it throws exceptions when you run it, you have not set up your environment correctly. In this case, read this guide again, and consult the resources below.