---
name: "gnutls_sec_param_to_pk_bits"
section: "3"
platform: "linux"
package: "gnutls"
version: "3.8.13-3"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/gnutls_sec_param_to_pk_bits"
---

# gnutls\_sec\_param\_to\_pk\_bits(3)

API function

## NAME

gnutls\_sec\_param\_to\_pk\_bits - API function

## SYNOPSIS

**#include \<gnutls/gnutls.h\>**

**unsigned int gnutls\_sec\_param\_to\_pk\_bits(gnutls\_pk\_algorithm\_t** *algo***, gnutls\_sec\_param\_t** *param***);**

## ARGUMENTS

- gnutls\_pk\_algorithm\_t algo

  is a public key algorithm

- gnutls\_sec\_param\_t param

  is a security parameter

## DESCRIPTION

When generating private and public key pairs a difficult question is which size of "bits" the modulus will be in RSA and the group size in DSA. The easy answer is 1024, which is also wrong. This function will convert a human understandable security parameter to an appropriate size for the specific algorithm.

## RETURNS

The number of bits, or (0).

## SINCE

2\.12.0

## REPORTING BUGS

Report bugs to \<bugs@gnutls.org\>.\
 Home page: https://www.gnutls.org

## COPYRIGHT

Copyright © 2001-2023 Free Software Foundation, Inc., and others.\
 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification, are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright notice and this notice are preserved.

## SEE ALSO

The full documentation for **gnutls** is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the /usr/share/doc/gnutls/ directory does not contain the HTML form visit

- https://www.gnutls.org/manual/