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Smart cards and the OpenCard Framework

Learn how to implement a card terminal and use a standard API for interfacing to smart cards from your browser

By Rinaldo Di Giorgio, JavaWorld.com, 01/01/98

The previous Java Developer column, "Smart cards: A primer", gave a general overview of smart cards and how they work. It included a section on smart card standards, introducing the concept of OpenCard. As described in the first article, OpenCard is an open standard that provides interoperability of smart card applications across NCs, POS terminals, desktops, laptops, set tops, and PDAs. OpenCard can provide 100% pure Java smart card applications. Smart card applications often are not pure because they communicate with an external device or use libraries on the client. In this article we will provide two implementations to two different card readers, demonstrating how you would add support for card readers to OpenCard. We are hopeful that ports for Litronic, Gemplus, Schlumberger, Bull, Toshiba, and SCM will be available soon, compliments of OpenCard and JavaWorld.

Introduction

In order to use a smart card, you need to be able to read the card and communicate with it using an application. OpenCard provides a framework for this by defining interfaces that must be implemented. The OpenCard framework defines several of these interfaces. Once these interfaces are implemented, you can use other services in the upper layers of the API. For example, with a properly interfaced reader, OpenCard can start a Java card agent whenever the card is inserted. The card agent can then communicate with applications on the smart card via the card terminal in the context of a session.

This article will teach you how to interface card terminals to OpenCard. Future articles will discuss how to write an agent. A small test application, which gets the ATR (Answer to Reset) string is provided. The ATR is fundamental to smart cards. We will take the OpenCard development kit and explain implementations for two different smart card readers using the Card Terminal Interface. The techniques discussed in the article for powering up readers, starting card sessions, and the use of Protocol Data Units and Application Protocol Data Units can be reused for most of the readers on the market.

While it's not necessary to use OpenCard in creating 100% pure Java smart card applications, without it developers are forced to use home-grown interfaces to smart cards. (For a detailed explanation of what 100% pure really means, see the Resources section.) OpenCard also provides developers with an interface to PC/SC (a smart card application interface developed by Microsoft and others for communicating with smart cards from Win32-based platforms for PCs) for use of existing devices on Win32 platforms. Read on and learn how to use smart cards with your browser.

OpenCard architecture: An overview

OpenCard provides an architecture for developing applications in Java that utilize smart cards or other ISO 7816-compliant devices on different target platforms such as Windows, network computers, Unix workstations, Webtops, set tops, and so on. The OpenCard Framework provides an application programming interface (API), which allows you to register cards, look for cards in readers, and optionally have Java agents start up when cards are inserted in the reader. The architecture of OpenCard is depicted in Figure 1.

 

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