Setting an encryption key

You can set the SYMMETRIC-ENCRYPTION-KEY attribute to any RAW, MEMPTR, CHARACTER, or LONGCHAR value that conforms to the specified key size of your algorithm setting. A RAW or MEMPTR value specifies a raw binary value for the key. A CHARACTER or LONGCHAR value creates a PBE, PKC#5-compliant, binary key with a default salt value.

CAUTION: Note that the result of setting the SYMMETRIC-ENCRYPTION-KEY attribute is unreadable to prevent it against access by memory scanners and debuggers. You must ensure that any source for this value is overwritten in memory, or otherwise protected from unauthorized access.

ABL also provides a number of facilities for generating symmetric keys of various types. For more information, see Generating encryption keys.