Difference between revisions of "Principal"
(Created page with "A '''principal''' is a cryptographic identifier used to describe the sender or receiver of a message. There are several types of principals owing to the different contexts...") |
(Describe types and representations.) |
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| − | A '''principal''' is a cryptographic identifier used to describe the | + | A '''principal''' is a cryptographic identifier used to describe the source or destination of a [[message]]. |
| + | |||
| + | == Representation == | ||
| + | |||
| + | === Binary === | ||
| + | A principal consists of a variable-length byte array. The last byte is used to indicate the type. The table below gives the type inferred from the last byte. | ||
| + | {| class="wikitable" | ||
| + | |'''Byte''' | ||
| + | |'''Type''' | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |none | ||
| + | |Management | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |<code>0x01</code> | ||
| + | |Opaque | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |<code>0x02</code> | ||
| + | |Self-Authenticating | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |<code>0x03</code> | ||
| + | |Derived | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |<code>0x04</code> | ||
| + | |Anonymous | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |<code>0x05</code> | ||
| + | |Unassigned | ||
| + | |} | ||
| + | |||
| + | === Textual === | ||
| + | A principal is shown in textual format by prepending it with its [[wikipedia:Cyclic_redundancy_check#CRC-32_algorithm|CRC-32]] value in big-endian byte order, applying [[wikipedia:Base32|Base32]] encoding without padding, grouping characters by length five, and separating them by a hyphen. The table below gives some common principals. | ||
| + | {| class="wikitable" | ||
| + | !Principal | ||
| + | !Description | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |<code>aaaaa-aa</code> | ||
| + | |[[Management Canister|management canister]] | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |<code>rrkah-fqaaa-aaaaa-aaaaq-cai</code> | ||
| + | |[[Governance Canister|governance canister]] | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |<code>ryjl3-tyaaa-aaaaa-aaaba-cai</code> | ||
| + | |[[Ledger Canister|ledger canister]] | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |<code>tdb26-jop6k-aogll-7ltgs-eruif-6kk7m-qpktf-gdiqx-mxtrf-vb5e6-eqe</code> | ||
| + | |[[Network Nervous System|network nervous system]] | ||
| + | |- | ||
| + | |<code>2vxsx-fae</code> | ||
| + | |anonymous user | ||
| + | |} | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Types == | ||
| + | There are several types of principals. | ||
| + | |||
| + | === Management === | ||
| + | The management principal is used to reference the management canister. | ||
| + | |||
| + | === Opaque === | ||
| + | An opaque principal is used to reference any canister that is not the management canister. | ||
| + | |||
| + | === Self-Authenticating === | ||
| + | A self-authenticating principal is used to reference a subnet or user. | ||
Revision as of 16:42, 17 November 2021
A principal is a cryptographic identifier used to describe the source or destination of a message.
Representation
Binary
A principal consists of a variable-length byte array. The last byte is used to indicate the type. The table below gives the type inferred from the last byte.
| Byte | Type |
| none | Management |
0x01
|
Opaque |
0x02
|
Self-Authenticating |
0x03
|
Derived |
0x04
|
Anonymous |
0x05
|
Unassigned |
Textual
A principal is shown in textual format by prepending it with its CRC-32 value in big-endian byte order, applying Base32 encoding without padding, grouping characters by length five, and separating them by a hyphen. The table below gives some common principals.
| Principal | Description |
|---|---|
aaaaa-aa
|
management canister |
rrkah-fqaaa-aaaaa-aaaaq-cai
|
governance canister |
ryjl3-tyaaa-aaaaa-aaaba-cai
|
ledger canister |
tdb26-jop6k-aogll-7ltgs-eruif-6kk7m-qpktf-gdiqx-mxtrf-vb5e6-eqe
|
network nervous system |
2vxsx-fae
|
anonymous user |
Types
There are several types of principals.
Management
The management principal is used to reference the management canister.
Opaque
An opaque principal is used to reference any canister that is not the management canister.
Self-Authenticating
A self-authenticating principal is used to reference a subnet or user.