public class KeyGenerator extends Object

This class provides the functionality of a secret (symmetric) key generator.

Key generators are constructed using one of the getInstance class methods of this class.

KeyGenerator objects are reusable, i.e., after a key has been generated, the same KeyGenerator object can be re-used to generate further keys.

There are two ways to generate a key: in an algorithm-independent manner, and in an algorithm-specific manner. The only difference between the two is the initialization of the object:

• Algorithm-Independent Initialization

  All key generators share the concepts of a keysize and a source of randomness. There is an init method in this KeyGenerator class that takes these two universally shared types of arguments. There is also one that takes just a keysize argument, and uses the SecureRandom implementation of the highest-priority installed provider as the source of randomness (or a system-provided source of randomness if none of the installed providers supply a SecureRandom implementation), and one that takes just a source of randomness.

  Since no other parameters are specified when you call the above algorithm-independent init methods, it is up to the provider what to do about the algorithm-specific parameters (if any) to be associated with each of the keys.

• Algorithm-Specific Initialization

  For situations where a set of algorithm-specific parameters already exists, there are two init methods that have an AlgorithmParameterSpec argument. One also has a SecureRandom argument, while the other uses the SecureRandom implementation of the highest-priority installed provider as the source of randomness (or a system-provided source of randomness if none of the installed providers supply a SecureRandom implementation).

In case the client does not explicitly initialize the KeyGenerator (via a call to an init method), each provider must supply (and document) a default initialization. See the Keysize Restriction sections of the JDK Providers document for information on the KeyGenerator defaults used by JDK providers. However, note that defaults may vary across different providers. Additionally, the default value for a provider may change in a future version. Therefore, it is recommended to explicitly initialize the KeyGenerator instead of relying on provider-specific defaults.

Every implementation of the Java platform is required to support the following standard KeyGenerator algorithms with the keysizes in parentheses:

• AES (128)
• DESede (168)
• HmacSHA1
• HmacSHA256

These algorithms are described in the KeyGenerator section of the Java Security Standard Algorithm Names Specification. Consult the release documentation for your implementation to see if any other algorithms are supported.