public abstract class BlockMechanism
extends java.lang.Object
A block mechanism (aka: confidentiality mode of operation) of a symmetric block cipher algorithm consists of two processes that are inverses of each other: encryption and decryption. Encryption is the transformation of a usable message, called the plaintext, into an unreadable form, called the ciphertext; decryption is the transformation that recovers the plaintext from the ciphertext.
For any given key, the underlying symmetric block cipher algorithm of the
mode also consists of two functions that are inverses of each other. These
two functions are often called encryption and decryption, but in the
description of all symmetric cipher block mechanism implementations, those
terms are reserved for the processes of the block mechanism. Instead, as part
of the choice of the block cipher algorithm, one of the two functions is
designated as the forward cipher function, denoted
CIPHK; the other function is then called the inverse
cipher function, denoted CIPH-1K. The
inputs and outputs of both functions are called input blocks and output
blocks. The input and output blocks of the block cipher algorithm have the
same bit length, called the block size, denoted b.
Currently, the following block mechanism implementations are available for
use with all software-based symmetric cipher implementations provided by the
Entrust cryptographic
service provider.
For a description of how any of the above block mechanisms can used with
Entrust's symmetric block cipher implementations, please refer to
SymmetricBlockCipher.