org.springframework.security.core.token

Interface TokenService

All Known Implementing Classes:

KeyBasedPersistenceTokenService

public interface TokenService

Provides a mechanism to allocate and rebuild secure, randomised tokens.

Implementations are solely concern with issuing a new Token on demand. The issued Token may contain user-specified extended information. The token also contains a cryptographically strong, byte array-based key. This permits the token to be used to identify a user session, if desired. The key can subsequently be re-presented to the TokenService for verification and reconstruction of a Token equal to the original Token.

Given the tightly-focused behaviour provided by this interface, it can serve as a building block for more sophisticated token-based solutions. For example, authentication systems that depend on stateless session keys. These could, for instance, place the username inside the user-specified extended information associated with the key). It is important to recognise that we do not intend for this interface to be expanded to provide such capabilities directly.

Since:

2.0.1

Author:

Ben Alex

Method Summary

Modifier and Type	Method and Description
Token	allocateToken(String extendedInformation) Forces the allocation of a new Token.
Token	verifyToken(String key) Permits verification the Token.getKey() was issued by this TokenService and reconstructs the corresponding Token.

Method Detail

allocateToken

Token allocateToken(String extendedInformation)

Forces the allocation of a new Token.

Parameters:

extendedInformation - the extended information desired in the token (cannot be null, but can be empty)

Returns:

a new token that has not been issued previously, and is guaranteed to be recognised by this implementation's verifyToken(String) at any future time.

verifyToken

Token verifyToken(String key)

Permits verification the Token.getKey() was issued by this TokenService and reconstructs the corresponding Token.

Parameters:

key - as obtained from Token.getKey() and created by this implementation

Returns:

the token, or null if the token was not issued by this TokenService