RFR: 8284194: Allow empty subject fields in keytool [v2]

[Sean Mullan]

On Wed, 11 May 2022 23:40:46 GMT, Weijun Wang <weijun at openjdk.org> wrote:

>> This code change allows one entering "." at a distinguished name prompt to skip a sub-component when running `keytool -genkeyapir`. Several new resource strings are added.
>> 
>> There is no detailed description in `keytool.html`, so I think there's no need to update it.
>> 
>> I'll file a CSR to describe the behavior change.
>> 
>> Here is an example after this change:
>> 
>> $ keytool -genkeypair -keystore ks -storepass changeit -alias b -keyalg EC
>> Enter the distinguished name. Enter a single dot (.) to leave the sub-component empty.
>> What is your first and last name?
>>   [Unknown]:  .
>> What is the name of your organizational unit?
>>   [Unknown]:  .
>> What is the name of your organization?
>>   [Unknown]:  .
>> What is the name of your City or Locality?
>>   [Unknown]:  .
>> What is the name of your State or Province?
>>   [Unknown]:  .
>> What is the two-letter country code for this unit?
>>   [Unknown]:  .
>> At least one field must be provided. Enter again.
>> Enter the distinguished name. Enter a single dot (.) to leave the sub-component empty.
>> What is your first and last name?
>>   [EMPTY]:  Duke
>> What is the name of your organizational unit?
>>   [EMPTY]:
>> What is the name of your organization?
>>   [EMPTY]:
>> What is the name of your City or Locality?
>>   [EMPTY]:
>> What is the name of your State or Province?
>>   [EMPTY]:
>> What is the two-letter country code for this unit?
>>   [EMPTY]:
>> Is CN=Duke correct?
>>   [no]:  yes
>> 
>> Generating 384 bit EC (secp384r1) key pair and self-signed certificate (SHA384withECDSA) with a validity of 90 days
>> 	for: CN=Duke
>> 
>> In the first round, "." is entered for all fields and keytool rejected it. In the second round, CN is entered but the others are unchanged (just type enter, because they are already entered previously). At the end, the name is "CN=Duke".
>
> Weijun Wang has updated the pull request incrementally with one additional commit since the last revision:
> 
>   word change

It might also be helpful to note that hitting return or enter will use the default, ex: "Enter a single dot (.) to leave the sub-component empty or enter return to use the default value in braces."

For this:

> What is your first and last name?
>   [EMPTY]:  Duke

I find the word "EMPTY" here a bit confusing because this is not a default value like "Unknown". It seems to me that it might be more intuitive to just repeat the initial set of prompts using [Unknown] and requiring '.' to be entered, especially since you repeat the part "Enter a single dot (.) to leave the sub-component empty."

-------------

PR: https://git.openjdk.java.net/jdk/pull/8667