This package defines a framework for supporting user authentication from external databases and directory services.

At the heart of the framework is the {@link net.sf.basedb.core.authentication.Authenticator} interface. It defines methods that an application can use to authenticate a user against a remote database or directory service.

As an example, a simple {@link net.sf.basedb.core.authentication.POP3Authenticator} has been developed. It allows a client application to check with a POP3 server for authentication, ie. all users with a mail account on the POP3 server will be granted access.

Adding support for other databases and directory services is as easy a writing a class that implements the Authenticator interface. @author Nicklas @version 2.0