/***********************************************************************
 * 
 *  Copyright (C) 2006 Novell, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
 *
 *  This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 *  modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
 *  License as published by the Free Software Foundation; version 2.1
 *  of the License.
 *
 *  This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 *  but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 *  MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
 *  Library Lesser General Public License for more details.
 *
 *  You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
 *  License along with this library; if not, Novell, Inc.
 * 
 *  To contact Novell about this file by physical or electronic mail, 
 *  you may find current contact information at www.novell.com.
 * 
 *  Author: Juan Carlos Luciani <jluciani@novell.com>
 *  
 ***********************************************************************/

package com.novell.casa.authtoksvc;

import java.io.Serializable;

/**
 * AuthMechanism Interface.
 * <p>
 * This is the interface implemented by Authentication Mechanisms.
 * <p>
 * Note: AuthMechanism classes need to be serializable so that they
 * can be re-loaded with the appropriate class loader.
 */
public interface AuthMechanism extends Serializable
{
   /**
    * Initialize the authentication mechanism.
    *
    * @param svcConfig  Service configuration object.
    * @param mechConfig Mechanism configuration object.
    * @throws Exception
    */
   void init(SvcConfig svcConfig, AuthMechConfig mechConfig) throws Exception;

   /**
    * Process authenticate request. If successful, return the Id of the
    * authenticated identity.
    *
    * @param authReqMsg Authentication request message.
    * @return           Id of the authenticated entity.
    * @throws Exception
    */
   String invoke(AuthReqMsg authReqMsg) throws Exception;

   /**
    * Return the mechanism id.
    *
    * @return Mechanism id.
    */
   String getId();
}
