1 /* Copyright 2004, 2005, 2006 Acegi Technology Pty Limited
2 *
3 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
4 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
5 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
6 *
7 * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
8 *
9 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
10 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
11 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
12 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
13 * limitations under the License.
14 */
15
16 package org.springframework.security;
17
18 /**
19 * Processes an {@link Authentication} request.
20 *
21 * @author Ben Alex
22 * @version $Id: AuthenticationManager.java 2217 2007-10-27 00:45:30Z luke_t $
23 */
24 public interface AuthenticationManager {
25 //~ Methods ========================================================================================================
26
27 /**
28 * Attempts to authenticate the passed {@link Authentication} object, returning a fully populated
29 * <code>Authentication</code> object (including granted authorities) if successful.<p>An
30 * <code>AuthenticationManager</code> must honour the following contract concerning exceptions:</p>
31 * <p>A {@link DisabledException} must be thrown if an account is disabled and the
32 * <code>AuthenticationManager</code> can test for this state.</p>
33 * <p>A {@link LockedException} must be thrown if an account is locked and the
34 * <code>AuthenticationManager</code> can test for account locking.</p>
35 * <p>A {@link BadCredentialsException} must be thrown if incorrect credentials are presented. Whilst the
36 * above exceptions are optional, an <code>AuthenticationManager</code> must <B>always</B> test credentials.</p>
37 * <p>Exceptions should be tested for and if applicable thrown in the order expressed above (ie if an
38 * account is disabled or locked, the authentication request is immediately rejected and the credentials testing
39 * process is not performed). This prevents credentials being tested against disabled or locked accounts.</p>
40 *
41 * @param authentication the authentication request object
42 *
43 * @return a fully authenticated object including credentials
44 *
45 * @throws AuthenticationException if authentication fails
46 */
47 Authentication authenticate(Authentication authentication)
48 throws AuthenticationException;
49 }