1/* 2 * Copyright (c) 1999, 2013, Oracle and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 3 * DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER. 4 * 5 * This code is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it 6 * under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as 7 * published by the Free Software Foundation. Oracle designates this 8 * particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided 9 * by Oracle in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code. 10 * 11 * This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT 12 * ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or 13 * FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License 14 * version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that 15 * accompanied this code). 16 * 17 * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version 18 * 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, 19 * Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA. 20 * 21 * Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA 22 * or visit www.oracle.com if you need additional information or have any 23 * questions. 24 */ 25 26package com.sun.security.auth; 27 28/** 29 * An object that implements the {@code java.security.Principal} 30 * interface typically also implements this interface to provide 31 * a means for comparing that object to a specified {@code Subject}. 32 * 33 * <p> The comparison is achieved via the {@code implies} method. 34 * The implementation of the {@code implies} method determines 35 * whether this object "implies" the specified {@code Subject}. 36 * One example application of this method may be for 37 * a "group" object to imply a particular {@code Subject} 38 * if that {@code Subject} belongs to the group. 39 * Another example application of this method would be for 40 * "role" object to imply a particular {@code Subject} 41 * if that {@code Subject} is currently acting in that role. 42 * 43 * <p> Although classes that implement this interface typically 44 * also implement the {@code java.security.Principal} interface, 45 * it is not required. In other words, classes may implement the 46 * {@code java.security.Principal} interface by itself, 47 * the {@code PrincipalComparator} interface by itself, 48 * or both at the same time. 49 * 50 * @see java.security.Principal 51 * @see javax.security.auth.Subject 52 */ 53public interface PrincipalComparator { 54 /** 55 * Check if the specified {@code Subject} is implied by 56 * this object. 57 * 58 * @return true if the specified {@code Subject} is implied by 59 * this object, or false otherwise. 60 */ 61 boolean implies(javax.security.auth.Subject subject); 62} 63