NAME

Crypt::DSA - DSA Signatures and Key Generation

SYNOPSIS

    use Crypt::DSA;
    my $dsa = Crypt::DSA->new;

    my $key = $dsa->keygen(
                   Size      => 512,
                   Seed      => $seed,
                   Verbosity => 1
              );

    my $sig = $dsa->sign(
                   Message   => "foo bar",
                   Key       => $key
              );

    my $verified = $dsa->verify(
                   Message   => "foo bar",
                   Signature => $sig,
                   Key       => $key,
              );

DESCRIPTION

Crypt::DSA is an implementation of the DSA (Digital Signature Algorithm) signature verification system. The implementation itself is pure Perl, although the heavy-duty mathematics underneath are provided by the Math::Pari library.

This package provides DSA signing, signature verification, and key generation.

USAGE

The Crypt::DSA public interface is similar to that of Crypt::RSA. This was done intentionally.

Crypt::DSA->new

Constructs a new Crypt::DSA object. At the moment this isn't particularly useful in itself, other than being the object you need to do much else in the system.

Returns the new object.

$key = $dsa->`keygen(%arg)`

Generates a new set of DSA keys, including both the public and private portions of the key.

%arg can contain:

Size
The size in bits of the p value to generate. The q and g values are always 160 bits each.
This argument is mandatory.
Seed
A seed with which q generation will begin. If this seed does not lead to a suitable prime, it will be discarded, and a new random seed chosen in its place, until a suitable prime can be found.
This is entirely optional, and if not provided a random seed will be generated automatically.
Verbosity
Should be either 0 or 1. A value of 1 will give you a progress meter during p and q generation--this can be useful, since the process can be relatively long.
The default is 0.

$signature = $dsa->`sign(%arg)`

Signs a message (or the digest of a message) using the private portion of the DSA key and returns the signature.

The signature is a hash reference with two keys: s and r.

%arg can include:

Digest
A digest to be signed. The digest should be 20 bytes in length or less.
You must provide either this argument or Message (see below).
Key
The Crypt::DSA::Key object with which the signature will be generated. Should contain a private key attribute (priv_key).
This argument is required.
Message
A plaintext message to be signed. If you provide this argument, sign will first produce a SHA1 digest of the plaintext, then use that as the digest to sign. Thus writing
```
    my $sign = $dsa->sign(Message => $message, ... );
```
is a shorter way of writing
```
    use Digest::SHA1 qw( sha1 );
    my $sig = $dsa->sign(Digest => sha1( $message ), ... );
```

$verified = $dsa->`verify(%arg)`

Verifies a signature generated with sign. Returns a true value on success and false on failure.

%arg can contain:

Key
Key of the signer of the message; a Crypt::DSA::Key object. The public portion of the key is used to verify the signature.
This argument is required.
Signature
The signature itself. Should be in the same format as returned from sign, a hash reference with two keys, s and r.
This argument is required.
Digest
The original signed digest whose length is less than or equal to 20 bytes.
Either this argument or Message (see below) must be present.
Message
As above in sign, the plaintext message that was signed, a string of arbitrary length. A SHA1 digest of this message will be created and used in the verification process.

AUTHOR & COPYRIGHT

Benjamin Trott, ben@rhumba.pair.com

Except where otherwise noted, Crypt::DSA is Copyright 2001 Benjamin Trott. All rights reserved. Crypt::DSA is free software; you may redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.

Crypt::DSA - DSA Signatures and Key Generation