Java Cryptography Extensions: Practical Guide for Programmers (The Practical Guides)

For a long time, there has been a need for a practical, down-to-earth developers book for the Java Cryptography Extension. I am very happy to see there is now a book that can answer many of the technical questions that developers, managers, and researchers have about such a critical topic.For many Java developers and software engineers, cryptography is an "on-demand" programming exercise, where cryptographic concepts are shelved until the next project requires renewed focus. But considerations for cryptography must be made early on in the design process and its imperative that developers know what kinds of solutions exist.

One of Javas solutions to help bridge the gap between academic research and real-world problem solving comes in the form of a well-defined architecture for implementing cryptographic solutions. However, to use the architecture and its extensions, it is important to recognize the pros and cons of different cryptographic algorithms and to know how to implement various devices like key agreements, digital signatures, and message digests, to name a few.

This book is intended for software engineers who are experienced in Java but have little to no experience with cryptography. I assume that if you're holding this book you have an advanced understanding of terms like authentication, digital certificate, public key, encryption, and so on. We will review more advanced topics, such as cipher modes, padding structures, and so on, where applicable.
Cryptography is an "on-demand" programming exercise for most engineers. On demand, it is coded once and tested, and then focus shifts to the business problem for the next n months of the project. As a result, it's very easy for even the most experienced Java engineer to become rusty on cryptographic concepts, because they aren't used on a daily basis. This book will address this problem head on, keeping definitions and code examples at your fingertips for times when they are needed.
This book was planned and written to solve two distinct problems that software engineers face after they reach the conclusion that they need to employ some form of a cryptographic architecture in their design. First, cryptography is a world unto itself, in which most texts present complex mathematical calculations ad nauseum. As professional software engineers, we face increasingly tighter deadlines and simply don't have the time to fully understand the underlying mathematical theorems at work behind an algorithm. While the underlying math is very important, we'll leave that work to the researchers at universities around the world. I openly admit that there are many researchers who possess mathematical skills exponentially greater than mine, and they can explain to you why the lgorithm I'm using--which passed public scrutiny at their level--is considered cryptographically secure. Thus, I've worked very hard to gloss over mathematical concepts, and included references where applicable to sources that can provide insight into the mathematics if you're so inclined. However, we still have a responsibility to become fluent in the terminology of the cryptographic universe if we are going to make informed design decisions.
This text will help you achieve the minimum fluency requirement for the language of cryptography by discussing the various cryptographic engines that are exposed via the Java Cryptology Architecture (JCA) and the Java Cryptography Extensions (JCE).