/*
* Copyright 2001-2007 Geert Bevin <gbevin[remove] at uwyn dot com>
* Distributed under the terms of either:
* - the common development and distribution license (CDDL), v1.0; or
* - the GNU Lesser General Public License, v2.1 or later
* $Id: CredentialsManager.java 3643 2007-01-12 15:29:45Z gbevin $
*/
package com.uwyn.rife.authentication;
import com.uwyn.rife.authentication.exceptions.CredentialsManagerException;
/**
* This interface defines the methods that classes with
* {@code CredentialsManager} functionalities have to implement.
* <p>A {@code CredentialsManager} is in charge of verifying
* {@code Credentials} instances. Using the information that a
* {@code CredentialsManager} provides, the authentication system is able
* to take appropriate actions (ie. start a new session, provide informational
* messages about a user's status, and so on).
*
* @author Geert Bevin (gbevin[remove] at uwyn dot com)
* @version $Revision: 3643 $
* @see Credentials
* @see SessionValidator
* @since 1.0
*/
public interface CredentialsManager
{
/**
* Verifies the validity of the provided {@code Credentials}
* instance.
*
* @param credentials The {@code Credentials} instance that needs to
* be verified.
* @return A {@code long} that uniquely identifies the user that
* corresponds to the validated credentials; or
* <p>{@code -1} if the credentials are invalid.
* @exception CredentialsManagerException An undefined number of
* exceptional cases or error situations can occur when credentials are
* verified. They are all indicated by throwing an instance of
* {@code CredentialsManagerException}. It's up to the
* implementations of this interface to give more specific meanings to
* these exceptions.
* @since 1.0
*/
public long verifyCredentials(Credentials credentials) throws CredentialsManagerException;
}
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