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# Introduction

The Bioseal SDK is a software toolkit designed to protect and verify documents using digital seals. Its primary function is to ensure that a document (whether a digital file or a printed paper with a QR code) is genuine and has not been tampered with. It does this by adding a special cryptographic digital signature (like an electronic stamp) to the document’s data. When someone scans or checks the document, the Bioseal SDK verifies this signature to confirm the document’s authenticity (that it truly comes from a trusted source) and integrity (that the content hasn’t been altered). In simple terms, Bioseal makes it easy to trust a document - if the seal is valid, you can be confident the information is original and unmodified.

## Built on the Visible Digital Seal (VDS) Standard

Bioseal SDK is built on the Visible Digital Seal (VDS) framework, an international standard for secure document verification. VDS is a technology that embeds important information from a document into a 2D barcode (such as a QR code) along with a digital signature. This means a Bioseal actually becomes part of the document (often as a QR code) that can be scanned to verify the document’s details. Because the data is cryptographically signed, any attempt to change or forge the information will be detected - the signature won’t match if someone tampers with the content. Using the VDS standard also makes Bioseal highly interoperable, since the rules for encoding and signing the data are common and publicly defined. Documents secured with Bioseal can thus be verified by different organizations and across various countries, as long as the verifier follows the same VDS rules. This universal approach ensures authenticity and trust no matter where the document is checked. Importantly, the VDS framework that Bioseal uses is efficient and user-friendly - for example, a Bioseal QR code can be printed on a normal document and later scanned with a standard smartphone to confirm its validity. This combination of open standards and ease of use means Bioseal can seamlessly bridge physical and digital documents, allowing a printed certificate or ID with a Bioseal QR code to be verified digitally anywhere in the world.

## Key Features of the Bioseal SDK

- Digital Signature Verification: Bioseal SDK employs robust digital signature checking to validate each document’s seal. Whenever a document or its QR code is scanned, the SDK automatically verifies the embedded cryptographic signature against the expected values. This process confirms that the document’s content is exactly what the issuer signed off on, assuring users that the document is authentic and unchanged. If even a single detail were altered, the signature check would fail, clearly indicating the document may have been tampered with.

- Trust Management: The SDK includes a trust management system to decide which signatures (and issuing authorities) are considered valid. In practice, this means Bioseal SDK relies on an official list of trusted issuers and their public keys/certificates when verifying a seal. Only a seal created by a recognized and authorized authority will be accepted as valid. This chain of trust - from the document, through the issuer’s signature, up to a root trusted authority - is automatically checked. By enforcing this trust framework, Bioseal ensures that fraudulent or unauthorized certificates cannot trick the system. In short, users can trust a Bioseal-protected document because it’s verifiably signed by a legitimate source and cross-checked against known authorities.

- Interoperability: Bioseal SDK is designed for interoperability, meaning it works across different systems, organizations, and countries without special adaptation. Since it adheres to the open VDS standard (closely aligned with international standards like ISO 22376 for digital seals), any party using the same standards can read and verify a Bioseal. This makes Bioseal universally compatible: a document sealed in one country can be authenticated in another, using any compliant software or even a smartphone app. The SDK produces and reads seals in a standardized format, ensuring a consistent verification process everywhere. This broad compatibility not only facilitates global use but also future-proofs documents - as long as the VDS standard is in use, Bioseal-signed documents will remain verifiable. In summary, interoperability means wider acceptance and easy integration: organizations can adopt Bioseal knowing it will work with existing verification tools and international trust networks, rather than being a proprietary or isolated solution.

## Supported Formats

id3 Bioseal SDK supports the following VDS formats:

- AFNOR XP Z42-101

- AFNOR XP Z42-105

- ISO 22376:2023

## Platform Compatibility

id3 Bioseal SDK is available in the following editions:

Edition | Platforms | Description
--- | --- | ---
Server | Windows, Linux or macOS | This edition is for server or desktop-based applications.
Mobile | Android, iOS | This edition is for mobile applications.
Edge | Raspberry PI, NXP iMX | This edition is optimized for embedded systems.

## Programming Languages

id3 Bioseal SDK provides API for the following programming languages:

- C

- C++

- C#

- Dart

- F#

- Java

- Kotlin

- Objective C

- Python

- Swift

- VB.NET

Note

Python packages are provided for 64-bit Windows and Linux operating systems.
Python version 3.9 or 3.11 is required.