[aerogear-dev] iOS Basic/Digest Thoughts
Matthias Wessendorf
matzew at apache.org
Tue Jun 18 09:21:21 EDT 2013
On Tue, Jun 18, 2013 at 2:49 PM, Kris Borchers <kris at redhat.com> wrote:
> This all makes sense to me. It is similar to what I was trying to do with
> JS but still not sure we will get it to work or not.
>
we were expecting that :) thanks for the feedback :)
>
> +1
>
> On Jun 18, 2013, at 5:01 AM, Matthias Wessendorf <matzew at apache.org>
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
> On Tue, Jun 18, 2013 at 11:53 AM, Christos Vasilakis <cvasilak at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>>
>> On Jun 18, 2013, at 12:33 PM, Matthias Wessendorf <matzew at apache.org>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Jun 18, 2013 at 11:26 AM, Christos Vasilakis <cvasilak at gmail.com>wrote:
>>
>>> Hi team,
>>>
>>> we have decided for our ios 1.1.0 release to go with the approach of
>>> setting the NSURLCredential as a config param on the pipe.
>>>
>>
>>
>> Not really decided, since decisions are made here, on the public mailing
>> list :-)
>>
>>
>> +1000 for that wrong expression my bad :(
>>
>
>
> :-) all good! not a big deal
>
>>
>>
>> As mentioned on the meeting notes we talked about it, coming to the
>> conclusion, that for now, it makes more sense using this approach (compared
>> to the AGAuthModule with login/logout/enroll).
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> That is:
>>>
>>>
>>> id <AGPipe> pipe = [_pipeline pipe:^(id <AGPipeConfig> config) {
>>>
>>> [config setName:@"autobots"];
>>>
>>> // set up credentials for Basic/Digest
>>>
>>> [config setCredential:[NSURLCredential
>>>
>>> credentialWithUser:PASSING_USERNAME
>>>
>>> password:LOGIN_PASSWORD
>>>
>>> persistence:NSURLCredentialPersistenceNone]];
>>>
>>> }];
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>> I do like it - it's clean!
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Main point that we decided to go with that approach is that users are familiar with the NSURLCredential object and is more straightforward to use instead of going through the authentication module 'login', 'logout' requests for this type of auth. It's a similar approach on what our underlying networking lib does when the user wants to set the credentials.
>>>
>>>
>> Fully agree - and this reflects what we discussed on the iOS team meeting
>> (this is the mentioned follow-up).
>>
>>
>>
>>> A note would be added for the user to be cautious when setting the persistence type (e.g. NSURLCredentialPersistencePermanent) so he can clear it up afterwards.
>>>
>>>
>> Ah, yeah - that's perfect and good!
>>
>> +1 on that
>>
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> Christos
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Jun 3, 2013, at 4:32 PM, Matthias Wessendorf <matzew at apache.org>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jun 3, 2013 at 3:22 PM, Christos Vasilakis <cvasilak at gmail.com>wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi
>>>>
>>>> I guess we can have both approaches
>>>>
>>>
>>> Not sure if we would mix a bit too much here
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> too and document the fact that care should be taken for the persistent
>>>> type.
>>>>
>>>> Further, another possible option allowing more more full control, is to
>>>> expose as an option the underlying block that iOS provides so users can
>>>> feed their own block. It is similar to the approach the underlying
>>>> afnetworking library does for users to configure<https://github.com/AFNetworking/AFNetworking/blob/master/AFNetworking/AFURLConnectionOperation.h#L320> if
>>>> they wish too.
>>>>
>>>> In essence, something similar to:
>>>>
>>>> id <AGPipe> pipe = [_pipeline pipe:^(id <AGPipeConfig> config) {
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> [config setName:@"autobots"];
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> // correct credentials
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> [config setAuthenticationChallengeBlock:^(NSURLConnection *connection, NSURLAuthenticationChallenge *challenge) {
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> // create the credentials and server them to the challenge request
>>>> }];
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Wdyt?
>>>>
>>>
>>> Not sure on that as well. Right now we configure initial state/params.
>>> Not sure we should really do extend the config to also accept
>>> "blocks/functions" to react on behaviour. Hrm...
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> Christos
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On May 29, 2013, at 1:27 PM, Matthias Wessendorf <matzew at apache.org>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, May 29, 2013 at 12:18 PM, Bruno Oliveira <bruno at abstractj.org>wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Hi, sorry for my n00bish. I like the idea of libraries to make
>>>>> developer's life easier, I just have few questions.
>>>>>
>>>>> Is possible to have both into AGAuthenticationModuleAdapter?
>>>>> NSURLCredential for developers pretty familiar with it (and wants full
>>>>> control) and HTTPBasicDigestAuthenticationModule for developer who
>>>>> want
>>>>> to keep it simple?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Interesting point. Let me think about it
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Another question? Why not HTTPAuthenticationModule? With the addition
>>>>> of
>>>>> more auth schemes you will end with something like
>>>>> HTTPBasicDigestHawkPersonaOAuth2AuthenticationModule.
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> oh, right :) yeah, let's name it AGHTTPAuthenticationModule.h/m. Good
>>>> point
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Corinne Krych wrote:
>>>>> > Thanks for the clarification.
>>>>> > I think I didn't get it.
>>>>> > Indeed it should be well documented as you would expect a login
>>>>> action
>>>>> > (ie doing an actual login on endpoint) when sending a login message.
>>>>> > saveLoginCredentials would be the correct message but I guess we
>>>>> rather
>>>>> > stick to AGAuthenticationModuleAdapter protocol.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > +1
>>>>> > Corinne
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > On 29 May 2013 11:13, Matthias Wessendorf <matzew at apache.org
>>>>> > <mailto:matzew at apache.org>> wrote:
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > On Wed, May 29, 2013 at 10:20 AM, Christos Vasilakis
>>>>> > <cvasilak at gmail.com <mailto:cvasilak at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Hi,
>>>>> >
>>>>> > iOS platform provides built-in implementations for
>>>>> > authenticating against HTTP endpoints that support Basic /
>>>>> > Digest authentication (among others). The workflow when iOS
>>>>> > tries to authenticate against those endpoints is basically:
>>>>> >
>>>>> > a) A credential storage singleton object
>>>>> > <
>>>>> https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSURLCredentialStorage_Class/Reference/Reference.html>
>>>>> provided
>>>>> > by the system is consulted for authentication credentials. If
>>>>> > credentials are found, the system proceeds with
>>>>> authentication.
>>>>> > Understandably for this to work, the developer has to
>>>>> initially
>>>>> > push the credentials to the system object (and remove when
>>>>> done).
>>>>> >
>>>>> > b) If credentials are NOT found, the system tries to call the
>>>>> > delegate method e.g.
>>>>> > 'connection:didReceiveAuthenticationChallenge
>>>>> > <
>>>>> http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/Foundation/Reference/NSURLConnectionDelegate_Protocol/Reference/Reference.html#//apple_ref/occ/intfm/NSURLConnectionDelegate/connection:didReceiveAuthenticationChallenge
>>>>> :>',
>>>>> > giving a chance for the user to provide the credentials, by
>>>>> > calling the appropriate methods on the authentication
>>>>> challenge
>>>>> > object passed in.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > AeroGear library, currently has a notion of pluggable
>>>>> > authentication modules providing an interface for clients to
>>>>> > implement 'login', and 'logout' methods, depending on the
>>>>> > authentication scenarios that they try to support. This fits
>>>>> > nicely with singleton credential storage approach, in the
>>>>> sense
>>>>> > when doing 'login' and 'logout', we simply edit the
>>>>> credential
>>>>> > storage adding or removing credentials appropriately. A
>>>>> branch
>>>>> > for this work can be found here
>>>>> > <
>>>>> https://github.com/cvasilak/aerogear-ios/tree/basic.digest.auth>.
>>>>> > For usage, have a look at our integration test
>>>>> > <
>>>>> https://github.com/cvasilak/aerogear-ios-integration/blob/basic.digest.auth/AeroGear-iOS-Integration/AeroGear-iOS-IntegrationTests/AGHttpBasicAuthenticationTests.m
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > For testing purposes, another branch
>>>>> > <
>>>>> https://github.com/cvasilak/aerogear-ios/tree/basic.digest.nsurlcredential>
>>>>> was
>>>>> > created, this time letting the user to directly pass
>>>>> > <
>>>>> https://github.com/cvasilak/aerogear-ios-integration/blob/basic.digest.nsurlcredential/AeroGear-iOS-Integration/AeroGear-iOS-IntegrationTests/AGHttpBasicAuthenticationTests.m#L50>
>>>>> an
>>>>> > NSURLCredential
>>>>> > <
>>>>> http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#Documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSURLCredential_Class/Reference/Reference.html>
>>>>> object
>>>>> > initialised with the username/password combination during the
>>>>> > Pipe configuration. Those credentials are internally stored
>>>>> and
>>>>> > given back to the system by implementing the necessary
>>>>> callback
>>>>> > <
>>>>> https://github.com/cvasilak/aerogear-ios/blob/basic.digest.nsurlcredential/AeroGear-iOS/AeroGear-iOS/core/AGHttpClient.m#L240
>>>>> >.
>>>>> > A usage example can be found in our integration test
>>>>> > <
>>>>> https://github.com/cvasilak/aerogear-ios-integration/blob/basic.digest.nsurlcredential/AeroGear-iOS-Integration/AeroGear-iOS-IntegrationTests/AGHttpBasicAuthenticationTests.m
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > advantages of using the singleton approach:
>>>>> > - fits nicely with the authentication mechanism we have in
>>>>> place
>>>>> > (as an extension HTTPBasicDigestAuthenticationModule
>>>>> > <
>>>>> https://github.com/cvasilak/aerogear-ios/blob/basic.digest.auth/AeroGear-iOS/AeroGear-iOS/security/AGHttpBasicDigestAuthentication.m
>>>>> >)
>>>>> > so user familiarity when looking to add basic/digest support
>>>>> to
>>>>> > the Pipe.
>>>>> > - we control the credential type e.g.
>>>>> > 'NSURLCredentialPersistenceForSession'. This eliminates
>>>>> errors
>>>>> > of using 'NSURLCredentialPersistencePermanent' and having the
>>>>> > user to explicitly clear the keychain when trying to login
>>>>> with
>>>>> > a different combination. For my search, many errors occurs
>>>>> > because of this.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > disadvantages of using the singleton approach:
>>>>> > - not sure if many iOS dev will like the fact of creating an
>>>>> > Authenticator object instead of using directly an
>>>>> > NSURLCredential object that are used to.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > ---
>>>>> > advantages of using the 'nsurlcredential' directly:
>>>>> > - users familiarity with the object.
>>>>> > - not explicit login logout request.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > disadvantages of using the 'nsurlcredential' directly:
>>>>> > - error credential type can lead to errors.
>>>>> >
>>>>> > With discussions with Matthias, we are more keen in following
>>>>> > the HTTPBasicDigestAuthenticationModule
>>>>> > <
>>>>> https://github.com/cvasilak/aerogear-ios/blob/basic.digest.auth/AeroGear-iOS/AeroGear-iOS/security/AGHttpBasicDigestAuthentication.m>
>>>>> approach
>>>>> > instead of providing the NSURLCredential
>>>>> > <
>>>>> http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#Documentation/Cocoa/Reference/Foundation/Classes/NSURLCredential_Class/Reference/Reference.html>
>>>>> configuration
>>>>> > option on the Pipe. Surely enough, in the documentation we
>>>>> will
>>>>> > explicitly state that "login"/ "logout" methods, serve as a
>>>>> > mean to setup internally the iOS authentication system so
>>>>> users
>>>>> > don't have too (instead of calling remote endpoints)
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > While the "NSURLCredential" better fits the meanings of
>>>>> BASIC/DIGEST
>>>>> > (no explicit login/logout against a server), however that will
>>>>> cause
>>>>> > all sorts of issues, since the APP_DEVELOPER is reponsible for
>>>>> > providing the NSURLCredential; If we uses a _permanent_ storage,
>>>>> all
>>>>> > sorts of errors may occur (like Christos was already indicating).
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > I (currently) like the "auth_module" approach better. However, as
>>>>> > Christos mentioned, we need to state (in API docs) that
>>>>> login/logout
>>>>> > is JUST applying/removing the credentials. The doc needs to say
>>>>> that
>>>>> > on LOGIN (for instance) no request is hit against the server.
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > -Matthias
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Wdyt?
>>>>> >
>>>>> > Thanks,
>>>>> > Christos
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > _______________________________________________
>>>>> > aerogear-dev mailing list
>>>>> > aerogear-dev at lists.jboss.org <mailto:
>>>>> aerogear-dev at lists.jboss.org>
>>>>> > https://lists.jboss.org/mailman/listinfo/aerogear-dev
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > --
>>>>> > Matthias Wessendorf
>>>>> >
>>>>> > blog: http://matthiaswessendorf.wordpress.com/
>>>>> > sessions: http://www.slideshare.net/mwessendorf
>>>>> > twitter: http://twitter.com/mwessendorf
>>>>> >
>>>>> > _______________________________________________
>>>>> > aerogear-dev mailing list
>>>>> > aerogear-dev at lists.jboss.org <mailto:
>>>>> aerogear-dev at lists.jboss.org>
>>>>> > https://lists.jboss.org/mailman/listinfo/aerogear-dev
>>>>> >
>>>>> >
>>>>> > _______________________________________________
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>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --
>>>> Matthias Wessendorf
>>>>
>>>> blog: http://matthiaswessendorf.wordpress.com/
>>>> sessions: http://www.slideshare.net/mwessendorf
>>>> twitter: http://twitter.com/mwessendorf
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Matthias Wessendorf
>>>
>>> blog: http://matthiaswessendorf.wordpress.com/
>>> sessions: http://www.slideshare.net/mwessendorf
>>> twitter: http://twitter.com/mwessendorf
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Matthias Wessendorf
>>
>> blog: http://matthiaswessendorf.wordpress.com/
>> sessions: http://www.slideshare.net/mwessendorf
>> twitter: http://twitter.com/mwessendorf
>> _______________________________________________
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>> https://lists.jboss.org/mailman/listinfo/aerogear-dev
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>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Matthias Wessendorf
>
> blog: http://matthiaswessendorf.wordpress.com/
> sessions: http://www.slideshare.net/mwessendorf
> twitter: http://twitter.com/mwessendorf
> _______________________________________________
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> https://lists.jboss.org/mailman/listinfo/aerogear-dev
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--
Matthias Wessendorf
blog: http://matthiaswessendorf.wordpress.com/
sessions: http://www.slideshare.net/mwessendorf
twitter: http://twitter.com/mwessendorf
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