From: Robert Feldt <feldt@...>
Date: 2001-10-16T03:40:12+09:00
Subject: [ruby-talk:22583] Re: OSSL opinion

On Tue, 16 Oct 2001, Nat Pryce wrote:

> It gets more complex than that with crypto.  Not only do applications have
> constraints on the crypto algorithms they can use, defined by IETF standards
> for example, but users have constraints on the *implementations* of those
> algorithms that they trust or are allowed to use by the organisations they
> work for.  For example, a European comany might not trust US closed-source
> crypto software or crypto hardware in case it had a backdoor to allow
> commercial espionage by US agencies.
> 
Ok, I sort of had a feeling I was venturing out on unknown water... ;-)

> That's why the programming interface to the Java Cryptography Extension is
> so complex.
> 
Ok, my impression from previous posters was that it was complex mostly
because of being implemented in Java or the design paradigm used in that
community. But there really is some complex stuff here...

I guess one should build on existing code then (like the original poster
is doing). Still it would be nice to have pure-Ruby implementations of
some important algs...

Thanks,

Robert