PEM encodings (preview)

Java 25 Course · lesson 12 of 16 · 3 min read

Reading a certificate file should not require a third-party library.

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Key points

  • PEM is the everyday text format for keys and certificates - the -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- blocks.
  • The JDK could parse the binary inside, but had no supported API for the PEM wrapper itself.
  • So most projects pull in Bouncy Castle purely to read a file, adding a large dependency.
  • JEP 470 previews a standard API for encoding and decoding PEM text.
  • It is a preview in 25, so it needs a flag and may still change before final.

The PEM API removes a common reason to add a whole crypto library for one parsing job.

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This is a reading copy. The full lesson — with the visual explainer, the interactive lab and a Run button for the code — lives in the Java 25 Course course, and every lesson in it is listed on the Java 25 Course contents page.