public interface SaslClient

Performs SASL authentication as a client.

A protocol library such as one for LDAP gets an instance of this class in order to perform authentication defined by a specific SASL mechanism. Invoking methods on the SaslClient instance process challenges and create responses according to the SASL mechanism implemented by the SaslClient. As the authentication proceeds, the instance encapsulates the state of a SASL client's authentication exchange.

Here's an example of how an LDAP library might use a SaslClient. It first gets an instance of a SaslClient:

 SaslClient sc = Sasl.createSaslClient(mechanisms,
     authorizationId, protocol, serverName, props, callbackHandler);
 

It can then proceed to use the client for authentication. For example, an LDAP library might use the client as follows:

 // Get initial response and send to server
 byte[] response = (sc.hasInitialResponse() ? sc.evaluateChallenge(new byte[0]) :
     null);
 LdapResult res = ldap.sendBindRequest(dn, sc.getName(), response);
 while (!sc.isComplete() &&
     (res.status == SASL_BIND_IN_PROGRESS || res.status == SUCCESS)) {
     response = sc.evaluateChallenge(res.getBytes());
     if (res.status == SUCCESS) {
         // we're done; don't expect to send another BIND
         if (response != null) {
             throw new SaslException(
                 "Protocol error: attempting to send response after completion");
         }
         break;
     }
     res = ldap.sendBindRequest(dn, sc.getName(), response);
 }
 if (sc.isComplete() && res.status == SUCCESS) {
    String qop = (String) sc.getNegotiatedProperty(Sasl.QOP);
    if (qop != null
        && (qop.equalsIgnoreCase("auth-int")
            || qop.equalsIgnoreCase("auth-conf"))) {

      // Use SaslClient.wrap() and SaslClient.unwrap() for future
      // communication with server
      ldap.in = new SecureInputStream(sc, ldap.in);
      ldap.out = new SecureOutputStream(sc, ldap.out);
    }
 }
 

If the mechanism has an initial response, the library invokes evaluateChallenge() with an empty challenge and to get initial response. Protocols such as IMAP4, which do not include an initial response with their first authentication command to the server, initiates the authentication without first calling hasInitialResponse() or evaluateChallenge(). When the server responds to the command, it sends an initial challenge. For a SASL mechanism in which the client sends data first, the server should have issued a challenge with no data. This will then result in a call (on the client) to evaluateChallenge() with an empty challenge.