/**********************************************************************************
* $URL: https://source.sakaiproject.org/svn/kernel/trunk/api/src/main/java/org/sakaiproject/user/api/AuthenticationManager.java $
* $Id: AuthenticationManager.java 105077 2012-02-24 22:54:29Z ottenhoff@longsight.com $
***********************************************************************************
*
* Copyright (c) 2005, 2006, 2008 Sakai Foundation
*
* Licensed under the Educational Community License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
* you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
* You may obtain a copy of the License at
*
* http://www.opensource.org/licenses/ECL-2.0
*
* Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
* distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
* WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
* See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
* limitations under the License.
*
**********************************************************************************/
package org.sakaiproject.user.api;
/**
* <p>
* AuthenticationManager provides authentication of end-users.
* </p>
*/
public interface AuthenticationManager
{
/**
* Attempt to authenticate a user by the given evidence. Success produces the authenticated user id. Failure throws an exception.
*
* @param e
* The collected evidence to authenticate.
* @return The authentication information if authenticated.
* @throws AuthenticationException
* if the evidence is not understood or not valid.
*/
Authentication authenticate(Evidence e) throws AuthenticationException;
}