/*
* DO NOT ALTER OR REMOVE COPYRIGHT NOTICES OR THIS FILE HEADER.
*
* under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 only, as
* published by the Free Software Foundation. Oracle designates this
* particular file as subject to the "Classpath" exception as provided
* by Oracle in the LICENSE file that accompanied this code.
*
* This code is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
* ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
* FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License
* version 2 for more details (a copy is included in the LICENSE file that
* accompanied this code).
*
* You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License version
* 2 along with this work; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation,
* Inc., 51 Franklin St, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301 USA.
*
* Please contact Oracle, 500 Oracle Parkway, Redwood Shores, CA 94065 USA
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*/
/**
* An object that implements the <code>java.security.Principal</code>
* interface typically also implements this interface to provide
* a means for comparing that object to a specified <code>Subject</code>.
*
* <p> The comparison is achieved via the <code>implies</code> method.
* The implementation of the <code>implies</code> method determines
* whether this object "implies" the specified <code>Subject</code>.
* One example application of this method may be for
* a "group" object to imply a particular <code>Subject</code>
* if that <code>Subject</code> belongs to the group.
* Another example application of this method would be for
* "role" object to imply a particular <code>Subject</code>
* if that <code>Subject</code> is currently acting in that role.
*
* <p> Although classes that implement this interface typically
* also implement the <code>java.security.Principal</code> interface,
* it is not required. In other words, classes may implement the
* <code>java.security.Principal</code> interface by itself,
* the <code>PrincipalComparator</code> interface by itself,
* or both at the same time.
*
* @see java.security.Principal
* @see javax.security.auth.Subject
*/
public interface PrincipalComparator {
/**
* Check if the specified <code>Subject</code> is implied by
* this object.
*
* <p>
*
* @return true if the specified <code>Subject</code> is implied by
* this object, or false otherwise.
*/
}