/*
 * @(#)Principal.java	1.20 01/12/03
 *
 * Copyright 2002 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved.
 * SUN PROPRIETARY/CONFIDENTIAL. Use is subject to license terms.
 */

package java.security;

/**
 * This interface represents the abstract notion of a principal, which
 * can be used to represent any entity, such as an individual, a
 * corporation, and a login id.
 *
 * @see java.security.cert.X509Certificate
 *
 * @version 1.20, 01/12/03
 * @author Li Gong
 */
public interface Principal {

    /**
     * Compares this principal to the specified object.  Returns true
     * if the object passed in matches the principal represented by
     * the implementation of this interface.
     *
     * @param another principal to compare with.
     *
     * @return true if the principal passed in is the same as that
     * encapsulated by this principal, and false otherwise.

     */
    public boolean equals(Object another);

    /**
     * Returns a string representation of this principal.
     *
     * @return a string representation of this principal.
     */
    public String toString();

    /**
     * Returns a hashcode for this principal.
     *
     * @return a hashcode for this principal.
     */
    public int hashCode();

    /**
     * Returns the name of this principal.
     *
     * @return the name of this principal.
     */
    public String getName();
}
