The Login process

The process of logging in a user involves a handshake between the client application and the Entity Server.  The Authenticator.Login  method is used to supply a client credential to the server in the form of an ILoginCredential.  The server in turn authenticates the user via an implementation of the IEntityLoginManager, and returns user information back to the client application in the form of an IPrincipal.  

All these interfaces may seem confusing, but they mean that you the developer are in control of the login process.

We discuss the various responsibilities in the login process in the following topics:

On the client - Authentication begins on the client, when Login is called.  Until a Login successfully completes, an EntityManager may not communicate with the EntityServer for data or services.

On the server - DevForce supplies built-in login processing on the server if using ASP.NET security.  When not using ASP.NET security you must provide a custom implementation of the IEntityLoginManager interface, otherwise all users will be logged in as "guest" users.

Customizing - You can customize the Login process by providing your own implementations of many interfaces.