.\"	$NetBSD: internal_v_smechname.3,v 1.2.10.1 2023/08/11 13:39:48 martin Exp $
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.TH "internal_v_smechname" 3 "Tue Nov 15 2022" "Version 7.8.0" "Heimdal GSS-API library" \" -*- nroff -*-
.ad l
.nh
.SH NAME
internal_v_smechname \- Internal names and mechanism names 

.SH "Name forms"
.PP
There are two name representations in GSS-API: Internal form and Contiguous string ('flat') form\&. Functions \fBgss_export_name()\fP and \fBgss_import_name()\fP can be used to convert between the two forms\&.
.PP
.IP "\(bu" 2
The contiguous string form is described by an oid specificing the type and an octet string\&. A special form of the contiguous string form is the exported name object\&. The exported name defined for each mechanism, is something that can be stored and compared later\&. The exported name is what should be used for ACLs comparisons\&.
.IP "\(bu" 2
The Internal form is opaque to the application programmer and is implementation-dependent\&.
.IP "\(bu" 2
There is also a special form of the Internal Name (IN), and that is the Mechanism Name (MN)\&. In the mechanism name all the generic information is stripped of and only contain the information for one mechanism\&. In GSS-API some function return MN and some require MN as input\&. Each of these function is marked up as such\&.
.PP
.PP
@FIXME Describe relationship between import_name, canonicalize_name, export_name and friends\&. Also, update for RFC2743 language ('contiguous' and 'flat' are gone, leaving just 'exported name
token', 'internal', and 'MN')\&.