Hello,
Michael McCabe wrote:
I'm new to all this and was wondering what the main differences
between PCSC and OpenCard are. Are they both middleware that provide
the programmer with an API?
Basically yes, they are both midleware that helps the programmers
access and use smart cards. OCF is more dedicated to Java applications
and MUSCLE to C applications although by using RPC or CORBA, both
could be used by any type of language.. (see for instance Solaris 8
in which Sun has integrated an OCF server that can be accessed
-through RPC- by a PAM module).
Common points: both are Open Source and even free software (for those
who care), MUSCLE is GPLed and OCF is distributed under a BSD-style
license.
Differences: OCF design is closer to the idea of framework (see
Taligent whitepapers: http://www.ibm.com/java/education/oobuilding/ )
while PC/SC is more a set of API. OCF has been designed from the
very beginning with a strong focus on high-level APIs while the MS
PC/SC's first goal was to have a uniform API to access card readers,
just like we have one for CDROMs. MUSCLE will probably go beyond
that and introduce card services APIs but MS does not seem to be
very interested in that..
E.g., in OCF, you have APIs not only for communicating APDUs through
a reader to a card, but also APIs for using ISO7816-4 file-system based
cards, ISO7816-7 database cards (with a possibility of using JDBC),
crypto APIs (signature, key generation, key import, etc.), EMV cards,
and APIs for managing applets on a card. We are also working towards a
deeper integration with JCA/JCE standard Java APIs.
Whether you need a more simple API for communicating with a card,
or a more complex framework that will be flexible and extensible
when new needs arise can guide you. Also MUSCLE is now available
in Unix, MacOS X, and OCF anywhere you can find Java (Unix, MacOS X,
but also Windows whatever, OS/2, AS400, and even small devices: there
is a special version named TOCF for embedded devices).
Last point. You can use OCF CardServices (i.e., code that know
how to use a specific type of card) with MUSCLE drivers (i.e., code
that know how to use a reader) by using a wrapper called
PcscCardTerminal that was ported by David to MUSCLE.
Hope it helps. You'll find more details at MUSCLE and OCF sites.
Cheers,
Christophe.
= It's .net as in the net that people are caught in if they =
= use it, correct? -- Greg@b3f(b)log1000 =
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Linux Smart Card Developers - M.U.S.C.L.E.
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