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Smart cards: A primer

Develop on the Java platform of the future

By Rinaldo Di Giorgio, JavaWorld.com, 12/01/97

Page 2 of 7

JavaCard
JavaCard was introduced by Schlumberger and submitted as a standard by JavaSoft recently. Schlumberger has the only Java card on the market currently, and the company is the first JavaCard licensee. A smart card with the potential to set the overall smart card standard, JavaCard is comprised of standard classes and APIs that let Java applets run directly on a standard ISO 7816 compliant card. JavaCards enable secure and chip-independent execution of different applications.

Note:
Although this article focuses on smart cards, it is important to note that you are not limited to these kinds of devices. Personally, I prefer the "Ibuttons" device being produced by Dallas Semiconductor. It is small and portable like a credit card, but so much handier. Why? You don't have to dig out your wallet in search of a card; Ibuttons is right there, on your finger. Yes, it's a ring!

While contactless versions of the smart card do exist (see below for more information on this), I think the Ibuttons, functional-jewelry type of device could be quite profitable. For more information on Ibuttons, see the Resources section. By the way, the Java Commerce Team demonstrated a "JavaRing" at Java Internet Business Expo (JIBE) in New York last August. You can read about this in the article in Fortune magazine (again, see the Resources section).

Why use a smart card?

What are the advantages of using a smart card? Well, a smart card:

• is more reliable than a magnetic stripe card
• currently can store a hundred times more information than a magnetic stripe card
• is more difficult to tamper with than mag stripes
• can be disposable or reusable
• can perform multiple functions in a wide range of industries
• is compatible with portable electronic devices such as phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and PCs
• is constantly evolving (after all, it incorporates a computer chip)

Types of smart cards

As mentioned above, this article will focus on two types of smart cards -- memory and process. In all, there are five types of smart cards:

1. memory cards
2. processor cards
3. electronic purse cards
4. security cards
5. JavaCard

Smart cards are a personal piece of hardware that must communicate with some other device to gain access to a display device or a network. Cards can be plugged into a reader, commonly referred to as a card terminal, or they can operate using RF radio frequencies.

Smart cards can communicate with a reader or receiver (see the section on readers below for more on these two terms) in one of two forms:

Contact smart cards -- The connection is made when the reader contacts a small gold chip on the front of the card.

Contactless smart cards -- These can communicate via an antenna, eliminating the need to insert and remove the card by hand. With a contactless card, all you have to do is get close to a receiver, and the card will begin communicating with it. Contactless cards can be used in applications in which card insertion/removal may be impractical or in which speed is important.

Some manufacturers are making cards that function in both contact and contactless modes.

 

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