1   /*
    2    * Copyright (c) 1996, 1998, 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   
   26   package java.security;
   27   
   28   /**
   29    * This interface represents the abstract notion of a principal, which
   30    * can be used to represent any entity, such as an individual, a
   31    * corporation, and a login id.
   32    *
   33    * @see java.security.cert.X509Certificate
   34    *
   35    * @author Li Gong
   36    */
   37   public interface Principal {
   38   
   39       /**
   40        * Compares this principal to the specified object.  Returns true
   41        * if the object passed in matches the principal represented by
   42        * the implementation of this interface.
   43        *
   44        * @param another principal to compare with.
   45        *
   46        * @return true if the principal passed in is the same as that
   47        * encapsulated by this principal, and false otherwise.
   48   
   49        */
   50       public boolean equals(Object another);
   51   
   52       /**
   53        * Returns a string representation of this principal.
   54        *
   55        * @return a string representation of this principal.
   56        */
   57       public String toString();
   58   
   59       /**
   60        * Returns a hashcode for this principal.
   61        *
   62        * @return a hashcode for this principal.
   63        */
   64       public int hashCode();
   65   
   66       /**
   67        * Returns the name of this principal.
   68        *
   69        * @return the name of this principal.
   70        */
   71       public String getName();
   72   }