Frontmatter

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Preface

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This Document

This HRS API provides a high-level generic authentication model - one suited to use with any form of human authentication - for operation with CDSA. Particular emphasis has been put on designing it for performing authentication using biometric technology.

The development of this specification has passed through several organizational groups, but was integrated into a generic authentication API by the BioAPI Consortium - see Acknowledgements.

This CDSA/HRS specification is based on BioAPI Version 1.0 8, published March 30, 2000, and uses the EMM facilities provided in CSSM to provide a generic authentication service for CDSA. It covers the basic functions of Enrollment, Verification, and Identification, and includes a database interface to allow a biometric service provider (BSP) to manage the identification population for optimum performance. It also provides primitives which allow the application to manage the capture of samples on a client, and the functions of Enrollment, Verification, and Identification, on a server. It is designed to support multiple authentication methods, both singularly and when used in a combined or "layered" manner.

Audience

To make the integration of the technology as straight-forward as possible (thus enhancing its commercial viability), the design approach has been to hide or encapsulate to the extent possible the complexities of the biometric technology. This approach also serves to extend the generality of the interface to address a larger set of potential biometric technologies and applications.

Typographical Conventions

• Bold font is used in text for options to commands, filenames, keywords, type names, data structures, and their members.

• Italic strings are used for emphasis or to identify the first instance of a word requiring definition. Italics in text also denote:

  • Command operands, command option-arguments, or variable names; for example, substitutable argument prototypes

  • Environment variables, which are also shown in capitals

  • Utility names

  • External variables, such as errno

  • Functions; these are shown as follows: name()

• Normal font is used for the names of constants and literals.

• The notation <file.h> indicates a header.

• Syntax, code examples, and user input in interactive examples are shown in fixed width font.

Trademarks

Motif®, OSF/1®, UNIX®, and the "X Device" are registered trademarks and IT DialTone^TM; and The Open Group^TM; are trademarks of The Open Group in the U.S. and other countries.

Acknowledgements