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The Source interface provides three principal methods of searching for and selecting Subjects. These methods are used in the Grouper API, and are exposed in the UI and WS.
Method | Description |
|---|---|
getSubject | Retrieve a specific subject from a specific source by its SubjectId. |
getSubjectByIdentifier | Retrieve a specific subject by unique match against one or more configured identifying attributes. |
search | List all subjects meeting a given search criterion. |
Deployers supply back-end specific search & selection statements for each of these three methods that determine 1) when a Subject matches each search criterion and 2) which of its attributes will be presented to the calling application. Callers need only persist a reference to the sourceId and subjectId of Subjects to be able to fully instantiate them at any time. Various methods in the Subject interface provide access to these identifiers and other attributes of each Subject.
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The search() method is used to by a User Interface application to allow a human to search for and list subjects using familiar attributes like name parts, departments, etc. For example, to grant a person a privilege, the Signet UI first does a search() using the user's specified search term, displays a list of the names and descriptions of the matching subjects, and enables the UI user to select one.
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