PrintableString
A PrintableString is a Universal Tag in the ASN.1 notation.
According to RFC 3280 [1], PrintableString is an acceptable character set for the DirectoryName data type. PrintableString comprises a subset of the ASCII character set, and does not include the at sign (@) or ampersand (&). This sometimes causes problems for naive implementers who attempt to put an SMTP email address into an X.509 digital certificate Distinguished Name.
According to the Layman's Guide to a Subset of ASN.1, BER, and DER [2], the character set of PrintableString can be expressed as:
A, B, ..., Z
a, b, ..., z
0, 1, ..., 9
(space) ' ( ) + , - . / : = ?
References
- Housley, R.; Polk, W.; Ford, W.; Solo, D., Internet X.509 Public Key Infrastructure Certificate and Certificate Revocation List (CRL) Profile, retrieved 2007-06-19
- Kaliski, Jr., Burton, A Layman's Guide to a Subset of ASN.1, BER, and DER, retrieved 2007-06-19
- Larmouth, John, ASN.1 Complete, retrieved 2009-02-10
- Dubuisson, Olivier, ASN.1 - Communication Between Heterogeneous Systems, retrieved 2009-02-10
- ITU-T, Information technology – Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1): Specification of basic notation (X.680 - 07/2002) (PDF), retrieved 2009-02-10