=pod

=head1 NAME

EC_GFp_simple_method, EC_GFp_mont_method, EC_GFp_nist_method, EC_GFp_nistp224_method, EC_GFp_nistp256_method, EC_GFp_nistp521_method, EC_GF2m_simple_method, EC_METHOD_get_field_type - Functions for obtaining B<EC_METHOD> objects.

=head1 SYNOPSIS

 #include <openssl/ec.h>

 const EC_METHOD *EC_GFp_simple_method(void);
 const EC_METHOD *EC_GFp_mont_method(void);
 const EC_METHOD *EC_GFp_nist_method(void);
 const EC_METHOD *EC_GFp_nistp224_method(void);
 const EC_METHOD *EC_GFp_nistp256_method(void);
 const EC_METHOD *EC_GFp_nistp521_method(void);

 const EC_METHOD *EC_GF2m_simple_method(void);

 int EC_METHOD_get_field_type(const EC_METHOD *meth);

=head1 DESCRIPTION

The Elliptic Curve library provides a number of different implementations through a single common interface.
When constructing a curve using EC_GROUP_new (see L<EC_GROUP_new(3)|EC_GROUP_new(3)>) an
implementation method must be provided. The functions described here all return a const pointer to an
B<EC_METHOD> structure that can be passed to EC_GROUP_NEW. It is important that the correct implementation
type for the form of curve selected is used.

For F2^m curves there is only one implementation choice, i.e. EC_GF2_simple_method.

For Fp curves the lowest common denominator implementation is the EC_GFp_simple_method implementation. All
other implementations are based on this one. EC_GFp_mont_method builds on EC_GFp_simple_method but adds the
use of montgomery multiplication (see L<BN_mod_mul_montgomery(3)|BN_mod_mul_montgomery(3)>). EC_GFp_nist_method
offers an implementation optimised for use with NIST recommended curves (NIST curves are available through
EC_GROUP_new_by_curve_name as described in L<EC_GROUP_new(3)|EC_GROUP_new(3)>).

The functions EC_GFp_nistp224_method, EC_GFp_nistp256_method and EC_GFp_nistp521_method offer 64 bit
optimised implementations for the NIST P224, P256 and P521 curves respectively. Note, however, that these
implementations are not available on all platforms.

EC_METHOD_get_field_type identifies what type of field the EC_METHOD structure supports, which will be either
F2^m or Fp. If the field type is Fp then the value B<NID_X9_62_prime_field> is returned. If the field type is
F2^m then the value B<NID_X9_62_characteristic_two_field> is returned. These values are defined in the
obj_mac.h header file.

=head1 RETURN VALUES

All EC_GFp* functions and EC_GF2m_simple_method always return a const pointer to an EC_METHOD structure.

EC_METHOD_get_field_type returns an integer that identifies the type of field the EC_METHOD structure supports.

=head1 SEE ALSO

L<crypto(3)|crypto(3)>, L<ec(3)|ec(3)>, L<EC_GROUP_new(3)|EC_GROUP_new(3)>, L<EC_GROUP_copy(3)|EC_GROUP_copy(3)>,
L<EC_POINT_new(3)|EC_POINT_new(3)>, L<EC_POINT_add(3)|EC_POINT_add(3)>, L<EC_KEY_new(3)|EC_KEY_new(3)>,
L<d2i_ECPKParameters(3)|d2i_ECPKParameters(3)>,
L<BN_mod_mul_montgomery(3)|BN_mod_mul_montgomery(3)>

=cut