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.NET Framework Class Library
X509Certificate Class

Updated: November 2007

Provides methods that help you use X.509 v.3 certificates.

Namespace:  System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates
Assembly:  mscorlib (in mscorlib.dll)

Visual Basic (Declaration)
<SerializableAttribute> _
<ComVisibleAttribute(True)> _
Public Class X509Certificate _
    Implements IDeserializationCallback, ISerializable
Visual Basic (Usage)
Dim instance As X509Certificate
C#
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public class X509Certificate : IDeserializationCallback, 
    ISerializable
Visual C++
[SerializableAttribute]
[ComVisibleAttribute(true)]
public ref class X509Certificate : IDeserializationCallback, 
    ISerializable
J#
/** @attribute SerializableAttribute */ 
/** @attribute ComVisibleAttribute(true) */
public class X509Certificate implements IDeserializationCallback, 
    ISerializable
JScript
public class X509Certificate implements IDeserializationCallback, ISerializable

ASN.1 DER is the only certificate format supported by this class.

For most scenarios, you should use the X509Certificate2 class instead.

The following example loads an X.509 certificate from a file, calls the ToString method, and displays the results to the console.

Visual Basic
Imports System
Imports System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates

Module X509

    Sub Main()

        ' The path to the certificate.
        Dim Certificate As String = "Certificate.cer"

        ' Load the certificate into an X509Certificate object.
        Dim cert As New X509Certificate(Certificate)

        ' Get the value.
        Dim resultsTrue As String = cert.ToString(True)

        ' Display the value to the console.
        Console.WriteLine(resultsTrue)

        ' Get the value.
        Dim resultsFalse As String = cert.ToString(False)

        ' Display the value to the console.
        Console.WriteLine(resultsFalse)

    End Sub
End Module
C#
using System;
using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;


public class X509
{

    public static void Main()
    {

        // The path to the certificate.
        string Certificate = "Certificate.cer";

        // Load the certificate into an X509Certificate object.
        X509Certificate cert = new X509Certificate(Certificate);

        // Get the value.
        string resultsTrue = cert.ToString(true);

        // Display the value to the console.
        Console.WriteLine(resultsTrue);

        // Get the value.
        string resultsFalse = cert.ToString(false);

        // Display the value to the console.
        Console.WriteLine(resultsFalse);

    }

}
Visual C++
using namespace System;
using namespace System::Security::Cryptography::X509Certificates;
int main()
{

   // The path to the certificate.
   String^ Certificate = L"Certificate.cer";

   // Load the certificate into an X509Certificate object.
   X509Certificate^ cert = gcnew X509Certificate( Certificate );

   // Get the value.
   String^ resultsTrue = cert->ToString( true );

   // Display the value to the console.
   Console::WriteLine( resultsTrue );

   // Get the value.
   String^ resultsFalse = cert->ToString( false );

   // Display the value to the console.
   Console::WriteLine( resultsFalse );
}
System..::.Object
  System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates..::.X509Certificate
    System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates..::.X509Certificate2
Any public static (Shared in Visual Basic) members of this type are thread safe. Any instance members are not guaranteed to be thread safe.

Windows Vista, Windows XP SP2, Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Windows XP Starter Edition, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2000 SP4, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 98, Windows CE, Windows Mobile for Smartphone, Windows Mobile for Pocket PC

The .NET Framework and .NET Compact Framework do not support all versions of every platform. For a list of the supported versions, see .NET Framework System Requirements.

.NET Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 3.0, 2.0, 1.1, 1.0

.NET Compact Framework

Supported in: 3.5, 2.0, 1.0
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