ASN.1 : Java Glossary

by Roedy Green ©1996-2008 Canadian Mind Products
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ASN.1

Abstract Syntax Notation One is a standard for describing binary file layouts for interchange records. It has much the same function as XML, except the records defined are in binary rather than text. There are tools for creating the descriptions and manipulating the files themselves. ASN.1 has been around since 1984. It is used to define all manner of thing from the format of digital certificates, credit card transactions, cell phone messages.

Here is what ASN.1 looks like.

ASN.1, when written against the more strict XER coding rules, can be automatically converted to XML and vice versa. ASN.1 is much more compact than XML. Full ASN.1 can describe structures that have no equivalent in XML. The main disadvantage of ASN.1 over XML is that you can’t make much sense of the file without the schema. With XML, you can still make reasonable sense of the file just by eyeballing it.

You can visually edit ASN.1 files.

BER
certificates
DER
OSS Nokalva: ASN.1 utilities
PER
XML

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