Hi,

I am developing an extension on digital signatures.
I want to integrate it whitin the JCA/JCE.
Therefore I need to add some engine classes.
First I tried to add engine classes to the JCE (wich is in the package
java.security).
But Java doesn't allow addition of classes to packages wich begin with
"java.".
Then I tried to extend the JCE  (which is in the package javax.crypto) and
succeeded without problems.

This is strange because the difference between the JCE and JCA is only due
to the export regulations in the USA.
Can anyone explain why Sun allows extension of the JCE, while extending the
JCA is prohibited?

I also made an new provider which provides an implementation for the new
engine classes.
And this also worked fine, although normally a provider need to be signed by
Sun or IBM.
Probably it is allowed because I don't provide implementations for existing
engine classes.

Thus, I arrive at my second question: Can anyone tell me why this is
allowed?

thanx,

Kristof Verslype
Belgium