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June 25, 2002
XSpaces
So I just found out about XSpaces reading Jon Udell's blog. XSpaces are free, public key-value pair stores that you read and write using SOAP. Pretty cool. They could be used as publically acccessible blackboards (remember blackboard architectures from your AI class?) for sharing information between programs. Kind of like Internet dead drops.
The next logical question, at least to me, is: if a SOAP accessible hash table is a good idea, why not other data structures as well? Could we use a similar stack space, queue space, etc.? If not, why? The second question I have is: now that we have reinvented shared memory on an Internet scale, shouldn't we have a companion semaphore service?
08:58 PM | Recommend This | Print This
SAML First Blush
I've been reading some on SAML, the XML language for passing authentication information around the net. SAML, as one would expect from an XML based language doesn't do authentication, it is merely a standard for passing authentication information and user attributes from place to place.
There's a pretty good article from Sun that gives some actual code examples (always a welcome addition) as well as the standard itself.
I'm still not entirely clear on how this all relates to other initiatives such as MS Passport and the Liberty Alliance. It is clear that SAML is not at odds with those projects.
02:43 PM | Recommend This | Print This
Fed Authentication Gateway
The Federal government's CIO website has a PDF document describing the goals and high-level design of their authentication engine. One part of me is sad to see that they don't envision its use beyond federal agencies. The other part of me is relieved.
The part of me that is sad is sad because I envision a future web where I can get government services without worrying about which agency or even which level of government offers the component pieces. SSO (single sign on) is critical to that happening and if the feds don't share their authentication engine with the states and local governments, its harder to do.
The problem can be solved, of course, with protocols like SAML. No word from the feds on whether they're going to support it or not.