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GSSManager.javaAPI DocJava SE 5 API33887Fri Aug 26 14:58:26 BST 2005org.ietf.jgss

GSSManager.java

/*
 * @(#)GSSManager.java	1.9 03/12/19
 *
 * Copyright 2004 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 * SUN PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL. Use is subject to license terms.
 */
 
package org.ietf.jgss;

import java.security.Provider;

/** 
 * This class serves as a factory for other important
 * GSS-API classes and also provides information about the mechanisms that
 * are supported. It can create instances of classes
 * implementing the following three GSS-API interfaces: {@link
 * GSSName GSSName}, {@link GSSCredential GSSCredential}, and {@link
 * GSSContext GSSContext}. It also has methods to query for the list
 * of available mechanisms and the nametypes that each mechanism
 * supports.<p>
 *
 * An instance of the default <code>GSSManager</code> subclass
 * may be obtained through the static method {@link #getInstance()
 * getInstance}, but applications are free to instantiate other subclasses
 * of <code>GSSManager</code>. The default <code>GSSManager</code> instance 
 * will support the Kerberos v5 GSS-API mechanism in addition to any
 * others. This mechanism is identified by the Oid "1.2.840.113554.1.2.2"
 * and is defined in RFC 1964.<p>
 *
 * A subclass extending the <code>GSSManager</code> abstract class may be
 * implemented  as a modular provider based layer that utilizes some well
 * known  service provider specification. The <code>GSSManager</code> API
 * allows the application to set provider preferences on
 * such an implementation. These methods also allow the implementation to
 * throw a well-defined exception in case provider based configuration is
 * not supported. Applications that expect to be portable should be aware
 * of this and recover cleanly by catching the exception.<p>
 *
 * It is envisioned that there will be three most common ways in which
 * providers will be used:<p>
 * <ol>
 * <li> The application does not care about what provider is used (the
 * default case).
 * <li> The application wants a particular provider to be used
 * preferentially, either for a particular mechanism or all the
 * time, irrespective of mechanism.
 * <li> The application wants to use the locally configured providers
 * as far as possible but if support is missing for one or more
 * mechanisms then it wants to fall back on its own provider.
 *</ol><p>
 *
 * The <code>GSSManager</code> class has two methods that enable these modes of
 * usage:  {@link #addProviderAtFront(Provider, Oid) addProviderAtFront} and
 * {@link #addProviderAtEnd(Provider, Oid) addProviderAtEnd}. These methods
 * have the effect of creating an ordered list of <i><provider,
 * oid></i> pairs  where each pair indicates a preference of provider
 * for a given oid.<p>
 *
 * It is important to note that there are certain interactions
 * between the different GSS-API objects that are created by a
 * GSSManager, where the provider that is used for a particular mechanism
 * might need to be consistent across all objects. For instance, if a
 * GSSCredential contains elements from a provider <i>p</i> for a mechanism
 * <i>m</i>, it should generally be passed in to a GSSContext that will use
 * provider <i>p</i> for the mechanism <i>m</i>. A simple rule of thumb
 * that will maximize portability is that objects created from different
 * GSSManager's should not be mixed, and if possible, a different
 * GSSManager instance should be created if the application wants to invoke
 * the <code>addProviderAtFront</code> method on a GSSManager that has
 * already created an object.<p>
 *
 *  Here is some sample code showing how the GSSManager might be used: <p>
 * <pre>
 *     GSSManager manager = GSSManager.getInstance();
 *
 *     Oid krb5Mechanism = new Oid("1.2.840.113554.1.2.2");
 *     Oid krb5PrincipalNameType = new Oid("1.2.840.113554.1.2.2.1");
 *
 *     // Identify who the client wishes to be
 *     GSSName userName = manager.createName("duke", GSSName.NT_USER_NAME);
 *
 *     // Identify the name of the server. This uses a Kerberos specific
 *     // name format.
 *     GSSName serverName = manager.createName("nfs/foo.sun.com", 
 *                                             krb5PrincipalNameType);
 *
 *     // Acquire credentials for the user
 *     GSSCredential userCreds = manager.createCredential(userName,
 *                                             GSSCredential.DEFAULT_LIFETIME,
 *                                             krb5Mechanism,
 *                                             GSSCredential.INITIATE_ONLY);
 *
 *     // Instantiate and initialize a security context that will be
 *     // established with the server
 *     GSSContext context = manager.createContext(serverName,
 *                                                krb5Mechanism,
 *                                                userCreds,
 *                                                GSSContext.DEFAULT_LIFETIME);
 * </pre><p>
 *
 * The server side might use the following variation of this source:<p>
 *
 * <pre>
 *     // Acquire credentials for the server
 *     GSSCredential serverCreds = manager.createCredential(serverName, 
 *                                             GSSCredential.DEFAULT_LIFETIME, 
 *                                             krb5Mechanism, 
 *                                             GSSCredential.ACCEPT_ONLY); 
 * 
 *     // Instantiate and initialize a security context that will
 *     // wait for an establishment request token from the client
 *     GSSContext context = manager.createContext(serverCreds);
 * </pre> 
 *
 * @author Mayank Upadhyay
 * @version 1.9, 12/19/03
 * @see GSSName
 * @see GSSCredential
 * @see GSSContext
 * @since 1.4
 */
public abstract class GSSManager {

    /** 
     * Returns the default GSSManager implementation.
     * 
     * @return a GSSManager implementation
     */
    public static GSSManager getInstance() {
        return new sun.security.jgss.GSSManagerImpl();
    }
    
    /**
     * Returns a list of mechanisms that are available to GSS-API callers
     * through this GSSManager. The default GSSManager obtained from the
     * {@link #getInstance() getInstance()} method includes the Oid
     * "1.2.840.113554.1.2.2" in its list. This Oid identifies the Kerberos
     * v5 GSS-API mechanism that is defined in RFC 1964.
     *
     * @return an array of Oid objects corresponding to the mechanisms that
     * are available. A <code>null</code> value is returned when no
     * mechanism are available (an example of this would be when mechanism
     * are dynamically configured, and currently no mechanisms are
     * installed).
     */
    public  abstract Oid[] getMechs();
    
    /**
     * Returns then name types supported by the indicated mechanism.<p>
     *
     * The default GSSManager instance includes support for the Kerberos v5
     * mechanism. When this mechanism ("1.2.840.113554.1.2.2") is indicated,
     * the returned list will contain at least the following nametypes:
     * {@link GSSName#NT_HOSTBASED_SERVICE GSSName.NT_HOSTBASED_SERVICE},
     * {@link GSSName#NT_EXPORT_NAME GSSName.NT_EXPORT_NAME}, and the
     * Kerberos v5 specific Oid "1.2.840.113554.1.2.2.1". The namespace for 
     * the Oid "1.2.840.113554.1.2.2.1" is defined in RFC 1964.
     *
     * @return an array of Oid objects corresponding to the name types that
     * the mechanism supports.
     * @param mech the Oid of the mechanism to query
     *
     * @see #getMechsForName(Oid)
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_MECH GSSException.BAD_MECH}
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract  Oid[] getNamesForMech(Oid mech)
        throws GSSException;
    
    /**    
     * Returns a list of mechanisms that support the indicated name type.<p>
     *
     * The Kerberos v5 mechanism ("1.2.840.113554.1.2.2") will always be
     * returned in this list when the indicated nametype is one of 
     * {@link GSSName#NT_HOSTBASED_SERVICE GSSName.NT_HOSTBASED_SERVICE},
     * {@link GSSName#NT_EXPORT_NAME GSSName.NT_EXPORT_NAME}, or
     * "1.2.840.113554.1.2.2.1".
     * 
     * @return an array of Oid objects corresponding to the mechanisms that
     * support the specified name type.  <code>null</code> is returned when no
     * mechanisms are found to support the specified name type.
     * @param nameType the Oid of the name type to look for
     *
     * @see #getNamesForMech(Oid)
     */
    public abstract  Oid[] getMechsForName(Oid nameType);
    
    /**	 
     * Factory method to convert a string name from the
     * specified namespace to a GSSName object. In general, the
     * <code>GSSName</code> object created  will contain multiple
     * representations of the name, one for each mechanism that is
     * supported; two examples that are exceptions to this are when
     * the namespace type parameter indicates NT_EXPORT_NAME or when the
     * GSS-API implementation is not multi-mechanism. It is
     * not recommended to use this method with a NT_EXPORT_NAME type because
     * representing a previously exported name consisting of abitrary bytes
     * as a String might cause problems with character encoding schemes. In
     * such cases it is recommended that the bytes be passed in directly to
     * the overloaded form of this method {@link #createName(byte[],
     * Oid) createName}.
     *
     * @param nameStr the string representing a printable form of the name to
     * create.
     * @param nameType the Oid specifying the namespace of the printable name
     * supplied. <code>null</code> can be used to specify
     * that a mechanism specific default printable syntax should 
     * be assumed by each mechanism that examines nameStr. 
     * It is not advisable to use the nametype NT_EXPORT_NAME with this
     * method.
     * @return a GSSName representing the indicated principal
     *
     * @see GSSName
     * @see GSSName#NT_EXPORT_NAME
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAMETYPE GSSException.BAD_NAMETYPE},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAME GSSException.BAD_NAME},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_MECH GSSException.BAD_MECH},
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract GSSName createName(String nameStr, Oid nameType)
        throws GSSException;
    
    /**
     * Factory method to convert a byte array containing a
     * name from the specified namespace to a GSSName object. In general,
     * the <code>GSSName</code> object created  will contain multiple
     * representations of the name, one for each mechanism that is
     * supported; two examples that are exceptions to this are when the
     * namespace type parameter indicates NT_EXPORT_NAME or when the
     * GSS-API implementation is not multi-mechanism. The bytes that are
     * passed in are interpreted by each underlying mechanism according to
     * some encoding scheme of its choice for the given nametype.
     *
     * @param name the byte array containing the name to create
     * @param nameType the Oid specifying the namespace of the name supplied
     * in the byte array. <code>null</code> can be used to specify that a
     * mechanism specific default syntax should be assumed by each mechanism
     * that examines the byte array.
     * @return a GSSName representing the indicated principal
     *
     * @see GSSName
     * @see GSSName#NT_EXPORT_NAME
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAMETYPE GSSException.BAD_NAMETYPE},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAME GSSException.BAD_NAME},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_MECH GSSException.BAD_MECH},
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract GSSName createName(byte name[], Oid nameType)
        throws GSSException;
    
    /** 
     *  Factory method to convert a string name from the
     * specified namespace to a GSSName object and canonicalize it at the
     * same time for a mechanism. In other words, this method is 
     * a utility that does the equivalent of two steps: the {@link
     * #createName(String, Oid) createName} and then also the {@link
     * GSSName#canonicalize(Oid) GSSName.canonicalize}.
     *
     * @param nameStr the string representing a printable form of the name to
     * create.
     * @param nameType the Oid specifying the namespace of the printable name
     * supplied. <code>null</code> can be used to specify
     * that a mechanism specific default printable syntax should 
     * be assumed by each mechanism that examines nameStr. 
     * It is not advisable to use the nametype NT_EXPORT_NAME with this
     * method.
     * @param mech Oid specifying the mechanism for which the name should be
     * canonicalized
     * @return a GSSName representing the indicated principal
     *
     * @see GSSName#canonicalize(Oid)
     * @see GSSName#NT_EXPORT_NAME
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAMETYPE GSSException.BAD_NAMETYPE},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAME GSSException.BAD_NAME},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_MECH GSSException.BAD_MECH},
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract GSSName createName(String nameStr, Oid nameType,
                                       Oid mech) throws GSSException;
    
    /**	 
     *  Factory method to convert a byte array containing a
     * name from the specified namespace to a GSSName object and canonicalize 
     * it at the same time for a mechanism. In other words, this method is a
     * utility that does the equivalent of two steps: the {@link
     * #createName(byte[], Oid) createName} and then also {@link
     * GSSName#canonicalize(Oid) GSSName.canonicalize}.
     *
     * @param name the byte array containing the name to create
     * @param nameType the Oid specifying the namespace of the name supplied
     * in the byte array. <code>null</code> can be used to specify that a
     * mechanism specific default syntax should be assumed by each mechanism
     * that examines the byte array.
     * @param mech Oid specifying the mechanism for which the name should be
     * canonicalized
     * @return a GSSName representing the indicated principal
     *
     * @see GSSName#canonicalize(Oid)
     * @see GSSName#NT_EXPORT_NAME
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAMETYPE GSSException.BAD_NAMETYPE},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAME GSSException.BAD_NAME},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_MECH GSSException.BAD_MECH},
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract GSSName createName(byte name[], Oid nameType, Oid mech)
	throws GSSException;
    
    /**	   
     * Factory method for acquiring default credentials.  This will cause
     * the GSS-API to use system specific defaults for the set of mechanisms,
     * name, and lifetime.<p>
     *
     * GSS-API mechanism providers must impose a local access-control
     * policy on callers to prevent unauthorized callers from acquiring
     * credentials to which they are not entitled. The kinds of permissions
     * needed by different mechanism providers will be documented on a
     * per-mechanism basis. A failed permission check might cause a {@link
     * java.lang.SecurityException SecurityException} to be thrown from
     * this method.
     *
     * @param usage The intended usage for this credential object. The value
     * of this parameter must be one of: 
     * {@link GSSCredential#INITIATE_AND_ACCEPT
     * GSSCredential.INITIATE_AND_ACCEPT},
     * {@link GSSCredential#ACCEPT_ONLY GSSCredential.ACCEPT_ONLY}, and
     * {@link GSSCredential#INITIATE_ONLY GSSCredential.INITIATE_ONLY}.
     * @return a GSSCredential of the requested type.
     *
     * @see GSSCredential
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_MECH GSSException.BAD_MECH},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAMETYPE GSSException.BAD_NAMETYPE},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAME GSSException.BAD_NAME},
     *    {@link GSSException#CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED
     *                                   GSSException.CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED},
     *    {@link GSSException#NO_CRED GSSException.NO_CRED},
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract GSSCredential createCredential (int usage)
	throws GSSException;
    
    /**	    
     * Factory method for acquiring a single mechanism credential.<p>
     *
     * GSS-API mechanism providers must impose a local access-control 
     * policy on callers to prevent unauthorized callers from acquiring 
     * credentials to which they are not entitled. The kinds of permissions 
     * needed by different mechanism providers will be documented on a 
     * per-mechanism basis. A failed permission check might cause a {@link 
     * java.lang.SecurityException SecurityException} to be thrown from 
     * this method. <p>
     *
     * Non-default values for lifetime cannot always be honored by the
     * underlying mechanisms, thus applications should be prepared to call
     * {@link GSSCredential#getRemainingLifetime() getRemainingLifetime}
     * on the returned credential.<p>
     *
     * @param name the name of the principal for whom this credential is to be
     * acquired.  Use <code>null</code> to specify the default principal.
     * @param lifetime The number of seconds that credentials should remain
     * valid.  Use {@link GSSCredential#INDEFINITE_LIFETIME
     * GSSCredential.INDEFINITE_LIFETIME} to request that the credentials
     * have the maximum permitted lifetime.  Use {@link
     * GSSCredential#DEFAULT_LIFETIME GSSCredential.DEFAULT_LIFETIME} to
     * request default credential lifetime.
     * @param mech the Oid of the desired mechanism.  Use <code>(Oid) null
     * </code> to request the default mechanism.
     * @param usage The intended usage for this credential object. The value
     * of this parameter must be one of: 
     * {@link GSSCredential#INITIATE_AND_ACCEPT
     * GSSCredential.INITIATE_AND_ACCEPT},
     * {@link GSSCredential#ACCEPT_ONLY GSSCredential.ACCEPT_ONLY}, and
     * {@link GSSCredential#INITIATE_ONLY GSSCredential.INITIATE_ONLY}.
     * @return a GSSCredential of the requested type.
     *
     * @see GSSCredential
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_MECH GSSException.BAD_MECH},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAMETYPE GSSException.BAD_NAMETYPE},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAME GSSException.BAD_NAME},
     *    {@link GSSException#CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED
     *                                   GSSException.CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED},
     *    {@link GSSException#NO_CRED GSSException.NO_CRED},
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract GSSCredential createCredential (GSSName name,
                                  int lifetime, Oid mech, int usage)
        throws GSSException;
    
    /**	   
     * Factory method for acquiring credentials over a set of
     * mechanisms. This method attempts to acquire credentials for
     * each of the mechanisms specified in the array called mechs.  To
     * determine the list of mechanisms for which the acquisition of
     * credentials succeeded, the caller should use the {@link
     * GSSCredential#getMechs() GSSCredential.getMechs} method.<p>
     *
     * GSS-API mechanism providers must impose a local access-control 
     * policy on callers to prevent unauthorized callers from acquiring 
     * credentials to which they are not entitled. The kinds of permissions 
     * needed by different mechanism providers will be documented on a 
     * per-mechanism basis. A failed permission check might cause a {@link 
     * java.lang.SecurityException SecurityException} to be thrown from 
     * this method.<p>
     *
     * Non-default values for lifetime cannot always be honored by the
     * underlying mechanisms, thus applications should be prepared to call
     * {@link GSSCredential#getRemainingLifetime() getRemainingLifetime}
     * on the returned credential.<p>
     *
     * @param name the name of the principal for whom this credential is to
     * be acquired.  Use <code>null</code> to specify the default
     * principal.
     * @param lifetime The number of seconds that credentials should remain
     * valid.  Use {@link GSSCredential#INDEFINITE_LIFETIME
     * GSSCredential.INDEFINITE_LIFETIME} to request that the credentials
     * have the maximum permitted lifetime.  Use {@link
     * GSSCredential#DEFAULT_LIFETIME GSSCredential.DEFAULT_LIFETIME} to
     * request default credential lifetime.
     * @param mechs an array of Oid's indicating the mechanisms over which
     * the credential is to be acquired.  Use <code>(Oid[]) null</code> for
     * requesting a system specific default set of mechanisms.
     * @param usage The intended usage for this credential object. The value
     * of this parameter must be one of: 
     * {@link GSSCredential#INITIATE_AND_ACCEPT
     * GSSCredential.INITIATE_AND_ACCEPT},
     * {@link GSSCredential#ACCEPT_ONLY GSSCredential.ACCEPT_ONLY}, and
     * {@link GSSCredential#INITIATE_ONLY GSSCredential.INITIATE_ONLY}.
     * @return a GSSCredential of the requested type.
     *
     * @see GSSCredential
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_MECH GSSException.BAD_MECH},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAMETYPE GSSException.BAD_NAMETYPE},
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAME GSSException.BAD_NAME},
     *    {@link GSSException#CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED
     *                                   GSSException.CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED},
     *    {@link GSSException#NO_CRED GSSException.NO_CRED},
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract GSSCredential createCredential(GSSName name,
                                      int lifetime, Oid mechs[], int usage)
        throws GSSException;
    
    /**	
     * Factory method for creating a context on the initiator's
     * side.
     *
     * Some mechanism providers might require that the caller be granted
     * permission to initiate a security context. A failed permission check 
     * might cause a {@link java.lang.SecurityException SecurityException}
     * to be thrown from this method.<p>
     *
     * Non-default values for lifetime cannot always be honored by the
     * underlying mechanism, thus applications should be prepared to call
     * {@link GSSContext#getLifetime() getLifetime} on the returned
     * context.<p>
     *
     * @param peer the name of the target peer.
     * @param mech the Oid of the desired mechanism.  Use <code>null</code>
     * to request the default mechanism.
     * @param myCred the credentials of the initiator.  Use
     * <code>null</code> to act as the default initiator principal.
     * @param lifetime the lifetime, in seconds, requested for the
     * context. Use {@link GSSContext#INDEFINITE_LIFETIME
     * GSSContext.INDEFINITE_LIFETIME} to request that the context have the 
     * maximum permitted lifetime. Use {@link GSSContext#DEFAULT_LIFETIME
     * GSSContext.DEFAULT_LIFETIME} to request a default lifetime for the
     * context.
     * @return an unestablished GSSContext
     *
     * @see GSSContext
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#NO_CRED GSSException.NO_CRED}
     *    {@link GSSException#CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED 
     *                      GSSException.CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED}
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_NAMETYPE GSSException.BAD_NAMETYPE}
     *    {@link GSSException#BAD_MECH GSSException.BAD_MECH}
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract GSSContext createContext(GSSName peer, Oid mech,
                                        GSSCredential myCred, int lifetime)
        throws GSSException;
    
   /**	   
    * Factory method for creating a context on the acceptor' side.  The
    * context's properties will be determined from the input token supplied
    * to the accept method.
    *
    * Some mechanism providers might require that the caller be granted
    * permission to accept a security context. A failed permission check 
    * might cause a {@link java.lang.SecurityException SecurityException}
    * to be thrown from this method.
    *
    * @param myCred the credentials for the acceptor.  Use
    * <code>null</code> to act as a default acceptor principal.
    * @return an unestablished GSSContext
    *
    * @see GSSContext
    *
    * @throws GSSException containing the following 
    * major error codes: 
    *    {@link GSSException#NO_CRED GSSException.NO_CRED}
    *    {@link GSSException#CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED 
    *                        GSSException.CREDENTIALS_EXPIRED}
    *    {@link GSSException#BAD_MECH GSSException.BAD_MECH}
    *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
    */
    public abstract GSSContext createContext(GSSCredential myCred)
        throws GSSException;
    
    /**	   
     * Factory method for creating a previously exported context.  The
     * context properties will be determined from the input token and
     * cannot be modified through the set methods.<p>
     *
     * Implementations are not required to support the inter-process
     * transfer of security contexts.  Before exporting a context, calling
     * the {@link GSSContext#isTransferable() GSSContext.isTransferable}
     * will indicate if the context is transferable. Calling this method in
     * an implementation that does not support it will result in a
     * <code>GSSException</code> with the error
     * code {@link GSSException#UNAVAILABLE GSSException.UNAVAILABLE}.
     *
     * Some mechanism providers might require that the caller be granted
     * permission to initiate or accept a security context. A failed
     * permission check might cause a {@link java.lang.SecurityException
     * SecurityException} to be thrown from this method.
     *
     * @param interProcessToken the token previously emitted from the
     * export method.
     * @return the previously established GSSContext
     *
     * @see GSSContext
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#NO_CONTEXT GSSException.NO_CONTEXT},
     *    {@link GSSException#DEFECTIVE_TOKEN GSSException.DEFECTIVE_TOKEN},
     *    {@link GSSException#UNAVAILABLE GSSException.UNAVAILABLE},
     *    {@link GSSException#UNAUTHORIZED GSSException.UNAUTHORIZED},
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract GSSContext createContext(byte [] interProcessToken)
        throws GSSException;

    /**	   
     * This method is used to indicate to the GSSManager that the
     * application would like a particular provider to be used ahead of all
     * others when support is desired for the given mechanism. When a value
     * of null is used instead of an <code>Oid</code> for the mechanism,
     * the GSSManager must use the indicated provider ahead of all others
     * no matter what the mechanism is. Only when the indicated provider
     * does not support the needed mechanism should the GSSManager move on
     * to a different provider.<p>
     *
     * Calling this method repeatedly preserves the older settings but
     * lowers them in preference thus forming an ordered list of provider
     * and <code>Oid</code> pairs that grows at the top.<p>
     *
     * Calling addProviderAtFront with a null <code>Oid</code> will remove
     * all previous preferences that were set for this provider in the
     * GSSManager instance. Calling addProviderAtFront with a non-null
     * <code>Oid</code> will remove any previous preference that was set
     * using this mechanism and this provider together.<p> 
     *
     * If the GSSManager implementation does not support an SPI with a
     * pluggable provider architecture it should throw a GSSException with
     * the status code GSSException.UNAVAILABLE to indicate that the
     * operation is unavailable.<p>
     *
     * Suppose an application desired that the provider A always be checked
     * first when any mechanism is needed, it would call:<p>
     * <pre>
     *         GSSManager mgr = GSSManager.getInstance();
     *         // mgr may at this point have its own pre-configured list
     *         // of provider preferences. The following will prepend to
     *         // any such list:
     *
     *         mgr.addProviderAtFront(A, null);
     * </pre>
     * Now if it also desired that the mechanism of Oid m1 always be
     * obtained from the provider B before the previously set A was checked,
     * it would call:<p>
     * <pre>
     *         mgr.addProviderAtFront(B, m1);
     * </pre>
     * The GSSManager would then first check with B if m1 was needed. In
     * case B did not provide support for m1, the GSSManager would continue
     * on to check with A.  If any mechanism m2 is needed where m2 is
     * different from m1 then the GSSManager would skip B and check with A
     * directly.<p>
     *
     * Suppose at a later time the following call is made to the same
     * GSSManager instance:<p>
     * <pre>
     *         mgr.addProviderAtFront(B, null)
     * </pre>
     * then the previous setting with the pair (B, m1) is subsumed by this
     * and should be removed. Effectively the list of preferences now
     * becomes {(B, null), (A, null),
     *         ... //followed by the pre-configured list.<p>
     *
     * Please note, however, that the following call:
     * <pre>
     *         mgr.addProviderAtFront(A, m3)
     * </pre>
     * does not subsume the previous setting of (A, null) and the list will
     * effectively become {(A, m3), (B, null), (A, null), ...}
     *
     * @param p the provider instance that should be used whenever support
     * is needed for mech.
     * @param mech the mechanism for which the provider is being set
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#UNAVAILABLE GSSException.UNAVAILABLE},
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract void addProviderAtFront(Provider p, Oid mech)
        throws GSSException;
    
    /**	 
     * This method is used to indicate to the GSSManager that the
     * application would like a particular provider to be used if no other
     * provider can be found that supports the given mechanism. When a value
     * of null is used instead of an Oid for the mechanism, the GSSManager
     * must use the indicated provider for any mechanism.<p>
     *
     * Calling this method repeatedly preserves the older settings but
     * raises them above newer ones in preference thus forming an ordered
     * list of providers and Oid pairs that grows at the bottom. Thus the
     * older provider settings will be utilized first before this one is.<p>
     *
     * If there are any previously existing preferences that conflict with
     * the preference being set here, then the GSSManager should ignore this
     * request.<p>
     *
     * If the GSSManager implementation does not support an SPI with a
     * pluggable provider architecture it should throw a GSSException with
     * the status code GSSException.UNAVAILABLE to indicate that the
     * operation is unavailable.<p>
     *
     * Suppose an application desired that when a mechanism of Oid m1 is
     * needed the system default providers always be checked first, and only
     * when they do not support m1 should a provider A be checked. It would
     * then make the call:<p>
     * <pre>
     *         GSSManager mgr = GSSManager.getInstance();
     *         mgr.addProviderAtEnd(A, m1);
     * </pre>
     * Now, if it also desired that for all mechanisms the provider B be
     * checked after all configured providers have been checked, it would
     * then call:<p>
     * <pre>
     *         mgr.addProviderAtEnd(B, null);
     * </pre>
     * Effectively the list of preferences now becomes {..., (A, m1), (B,
     * null)}.<p>
     *
     * Suppose at a later time the following call is made to the same
     * GSSManager instance:<p>
     * <pre>
     *         mgr.addProviderAtEnd(B, m2)
     * </pre>
     * then the previous setting with the pair (B, null) subsumes this and
     * therefore this request should be ignored. The same would happen if a
     * request is made for the already existing pairs of (A, m1) or (B,
     * null).<p>
     *
     * Please note, however, that the following call:<p>
     * <pre>
     *         mgr.addProviderAtEnd(A, null)
     * </pre>
     * is not subsumed by the previous setting of (A, m1) and the list will
     * effectively become {..., (A, m1), (B, null), (A, null)}
     *
     * @param p the provider instance that should be used whenever support
     * is needed for mech.
     * @param mech the mechanism for which the provider is being set
     *
     * @throws GSSException containing the following 
     * major error codes: 
     *    {@link GSSException#UNAVAILABLE GSSException.UNAVAILABLE},
     *    {@link GSSException#FAILURE GSSException.FAILURE}
     */
    public abstract void addProviderAtEnd(Provider p, Oid mech)
        throws GSSException;
}