netbeans.apache.org/src/content/wiki/Authenticator.asciidoc

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= Authenticator
:jbake-type: wiki
:jbake-tags: wiki, devfaq, needsreview
:markup-in-source: verbatim,quotes,macros
:jbake-status: published
:syntax: true
:description: Problems
:icons: font
:source-highlighter: pygments
:toc: left
:toc-title:
:experimental:


link:https://netbeans.apache.org[NetBeans] provide its own
`java.net.Authenticator` implementation and `java.net.ProxySelector`
implementation. The behavior of these subsystem has always been tight closely
to their usage in the IDE. Time has come to make it a bit more flexible and
allow reuse in other link:https://netbeans.apache.org[NetBeans] Platform based
applications.


== Problems

Here is list of known problems. With preferrable way of fixing them. In case
there are some doubts about the choosen solution, alternative approaches are
discussed in following section.


== Authenticator ignores username:password@ part of the URL

The current Authenticator implementation ignores any information about the name and password specified as part of the URL.

*Resolution:* use it.

== Git support needs a way to suppress Authenticator

The link:https://netbeans.apache.org[NetBeans] Git support wants to connect to
a URL without asking user a question about the credentials. If the connection
fails, the `git` itself wants to handle a fallback query.

*Resolution:* Add a pair of methods into *org.openide.util.NetworkSettings*:

[source,java,subs="{markup-in-source}"]
----

public static <R> R suppressAuthenticationDialog(Callable<R> blockOfCode) throws Exception;
public static boolean isAuthenticationDialogSuppressed();

----

The `git` module will enter a _suppressed_ mode first, before dealing with the
URLs. The `Authenticator` implementation will find out it is in this mode
(while the _blockOfCode_ is running) and will not show any user visible dialogs
at all.

NOTE: The cooperation between `NetworkSettings` and
link:https://netbeans.apache.org[NetBeans] `Authenticator` is proprietary. If a
system is using other `Authenticator` implementation, it must call
`_isAuthenticationDialogSuppressed()_`.


[[Dynamic_credentials]]
=== Dynamic credentials

Most of the proxy and network credentials are currently read from a default link:https://netbeans.apache.org[NetBeans] storage. This may not be ideal for other Platform aplications storing the settings in a different way or computing them dynamically. 

*Resolution*: Abstract the way following values are obtained:

[source,java,subs="{markup-in-source}"]
----

protected abstract String getProxyUserName(URI u);
protected abstract char[] getProxyPassword(URI u);
protected abstract String getProxyHost(URI u);
protected abstract String getProxyPort(URI u);
// possibly:
protected abstract boolean isProxyAuthentication(URI u);

----

let other application to register other than default implementation which can read the values from whatever source it wants.


[[Open_Questions]]
== Open Questions

Eclipse is solving similar problem. Anyone knows how that is handled? org.eclipse.jgit is not reusing it directly (has no dependency), but somehow the system works together and we should understand how.

The link:https://bits.netbeans.org/dev/javadoc/org-netbeans-libs-git/index.html?overview-summary.html[git client library] is link:https://netbeans.apache.org[NetBeans] independent and can be shared in other products. Should it use _suppressAuthenticationDialog_ by itself or should each caller wrap their calls into _suppressAuthenticationDialog_ *Callable*?

NetBeans uses link:http://bits.netbeans.org/dev/javadoc/org-netbeans-modules-keyring/org/netbeans/api/keyring/Keyring.html[Keyring API] for secure storage for user's passwords. _Keyring_ uses native support in given platform. Consider using _Keyring_ in SPI for dynamic network credentials.


[NOTE]
====
The content in this page was kindly donated by Oracle Corp. to the Apache Software Foundation.

This page was exported from link:http://wiki.netbeans.org/Authenticator[http://wiki.netbeans.org/Authenticator] , that was last modified by NetBeans user Jglick on 2011-09-20T13:23:07Z.

This document was automatically converted to the AsciiDoc format on 2020-03-12, and needs to be reviewed.
====