os/security/contentmgmt/contentaccessfwfordrm/engineering/dox/CAFIntroduction.dox
author sl@SLION-WIN7.fritz.box
Fri, 15 Jun 2012 03:10:57 +0200
changeset 0 bde4ae8d615e
permissions -rw-r--r--
First public contribution.
     1 // Copyright (c) 2006-2009 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies).
     2 // All rights reserved.
     3 // This component and the accompanying materials are made available
     4 // under the terms of the License "Eclipse Public License v1.0"
     5 // which accompanies this distribution, and is available
     6 // at the URL "http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html".
     7 //
     8 // Initial Contributors:
     9 // Nokia Corporation - initial contribution.
    10 //
    11 // Contributors:
    12 //
    13 // Description:
    14 // <hr>
    15 // The Content Access Framework is at released status in Symbian OS v9.1
    16 // <hr>
    17 // The Symbian OS Content Access Framework (CAF) provides services that
    18 // enable agents to publish content in a generic manner that is easy for 
    19 // applications to use. 
    20 // Applications will access content the same way regardless of whether the
    21 // content is plain text, located in a server's private directory, or
    22 // DRM protected.
    23 // Content can be, for example, media files or a level in a game; applications
    24 // would be, for example, a video/sound player or an internet browser; 
    25 // DRM stands for Digital Rights Management.
    26 // <hr>
    27 // The CAF defines an ECom plug-in interface, for third-party CAF Agents. The interface
    28 // allows new agents to be integrated at a later date, dynamically if required. 
    29 // The specification for this interface can be found in <code>ContentAccess::CAgentFactory</code>.
    30 // CAF Agents can be written to provide the following functions:
    31 // The CAF framework does not provide any capability enforcement so it is the responsiblity 
    32 // of the agent to police access to the APIs. The agent can choose to deny some operations 
    33 // in the CAF API based upon application's capabilities or the agent's own policy relating 
    34 // to the use of that API. 
    35 // <hr>
    36 // <code>ContentAccess::CAgentFactory</code>. This is the ECom interface for a CAF Agent.
    37 // The agent's factory will produce products derived from:
    38 // -# <code>ContentAccess::CAgentContent</code>
    39 // -# <code>ContentAccess::CAgentData</code>
    40 // -# <code>ContentAccess::CAgentImportFile</code>
    41 // -# <code>ContentAccess::CAgentManager</code>
    42 // -# <code>ContentAccess::CAgentRightsManager</code>
    43 // These products provide the services described in the introduction (above) on a per 
    44 // agent basis.
    45 // <hr>
    46 // Generally, these APIs fall into four areas:
    47 // <b>Supplier API</b> 
    48 // The Supplier API is used to handle the delivery and transformation of content.
    49 // It can be used to transform DRM protected files when they arrive on a device into 
    50 // a form that allows them to be stored securely on the device.
    51 // It can also be used intercept content and ensure it is stored in an agent's private 
    52 // directory.
    53 // See the classes <code>ContentAccess::CSupplier</code> and <code>ContentAccess::CImportFile</code>
    54 // <b>Consumer API</b> 
    55 // Allows applications to read the content as if it were stored as plain text regardless
    56 // of how it is actually stored on the device. For instance it might be encrypted.
    57 // The consumer API will be used by applications rendering content and/or multimedia 
    58 // plug-ins. By rendering we mean reading data from a file, transforming it, then playing 
    59 // or displaying it on the device.
    60 // See the classes <code>ContentAccess::CContent</code> and <code>ContentAccess::CData</code>.
    61 // <b>Manager API</b> 
    62 // The management of files and content access agents.
    63 // See <code>ContentAccess::CManager</code>
    64 // <b>Rights Manager API</b> 
    65 // A generic API used to manage DRM rights within a particular DRM agent
    66 // See <code>ContentAccess::CRightsManager</code>
    67 // <hr>
    68 // An archive file contains content objects and other containers within the file. Each
    69 // container within the file may contain more content objects or further containers.
    70 // Common examples of archive files are zip and tar files.
    71 // The Content Access Framework allows applications to open archive files and read 
    72 // content from inside them. The content objects and containers inside the 
    73 // file can be traversed using the <code>ContentAccess::CContent</code> class. 
    74 // This class allows applications to use the content within these container files 
    75 // without needing to understand any specifics of the compression or storage mechanism 
    76 // used by the archive.
    77 // <hr>
    78 // The Content Access Framework also provides an abstact way to access DRM protected 
    79 // content. An agent can be designed to implement a DRM scheme.
    80 // Applications use DRM protected files in the same way they would use any other file. 
    81 // The agent enforces the rights applied to the content. Also, it prevents access when rights
    82 // have expired or if the file is accessed by applications without DRM capability.
    83 // To enforce the protection of the content the agent must know what the client intends 
    84 // to do with the content once it has read the plain-text version of that content. Therefore, applications must 
    85 // Applications should \b always specify their intent, whether or not they will using DRM protected content. 
    86 // Non-DRM agents will just ignore the call, but it means the application does not need to treat DRM content 
    87 // as a special case.
    88 // One occasion where applications do need to treat DRM as a special case is where User Interface menu 
    89 // Applications can use the <code>GetAttribute()</code> functions to determine whether the operation is allowed on any 
    90 // given content object.
    91 // Finally any application or plug-in that reads DRM content must handle the unencrypted version of 
    92 // the content responsibly. Only applications proven to work this way will be given the DRM capability. 
    93 // <hr>
    94 // The evaluation of DRM rights hinges on the correct supply of 'DRM
    95 // Intent' from the trusted rendering application to the Content Access
    96 // Framework. The framework provides a number of options so that the
    97 // application can query and evaluate rights appropriately. 
    98 // Briefly, the CAF allows a renderer to:
    99 // - <b>Evalute intent</b> \n
   100 // e.g., ask the question "Could I play this now if I wanted to?". \n
   101 // Here, the ability is queried, but no stateful rights modifications are made.
   102 // - <b>Execute intent</b> \n
   103 // e.g., indicate "I have played this now". \n
   104 // In this example, the CAF would instruct the agent to evaluate and process
   105 // the rights, thus modifying any stateful rights 
   106 // (i.e., rights that have state, e.g. content that has an expiry date or content that can only be played three times, say).
   107 // Essentially, renders will begin by evaluating intent when the \c CData object
   108 // is created. When the content has been rendered successfully, they will execute 
   109 // the intent to ensure that stateful rights are then processed.
   110 // The recommended intent values (for renders and agents to support) are given in <code>ContentAccess::TIntent</code>:
   111 // - \c EPeek: Do not process or evaluate rights in any way
   112 // - \c EPlay: Play the target content (OMA)
   113 // - \c Eview: View the target content (OMA)
   114 // - \c EExecute: Execute the target content (OMA). Note: only supported in
   115 // a Java context
   116 // - \c EPrint: Print the target content (OMA)
   117 // - \c EPause: Pause content playback
   118 // - \c EContinue: Continue content playback
   119 // - \c EUnknown: Client has no idea what the content will be used for. DRM Agents can deny this intent allowing only unprotected content to be accessed this way.
   120 // <hr>
   121 // The F32 Agent provides access to unprotected files. It is really just a wrapper around <code>RFile</code>.
   122 // The Content Access Framework treats the F32 agent as a special case. If no other suitable 
   123 // agent is responsible for a file or directory the F32 Agent will be used. 
   124 // The F32 Agent runs in the same process and thread as the calling application so any 
   125 // file operations it performs will be limited to the file operations permitted for 
   126 // the calling application's process
   127 // <hr>
   128 // Some agents may provide access to files stored in their private directory. They
   129 // can advertise the files' existence to applications through their implementation 
   130 // of the <code>ContentAccess::CAgentManager::GetDir()</code> function.
   131 // In the file system the private directories have the format 
   132 // <code>\\private\\xxxxxxxx\\directory_1\\...directory_n\\filename.ext</code>
   133 // where <code>xxxxxxxx</code> is the UID of the agent.
   134 // CAF will translate that path so applications see the file as:
   135 // <code>\\private\\agent_name\\directory_1\\...directory_n\\filename.ext</code>
   136 // where <code>agent_name</code> is the name of the agent.
   137 // When an application opens a file stored in the private directory, CAF selects the 
   138 // agent which handles that content based upon the name in the path. If the file is not 
   139 // stored in a private directory, CAF asks each of the agents in turn whether they support 
   140 // the file. If no agent supports the file, it will be read as plaintext using the <code>F32Agent</code>.
   141 // <hr>
   142 // - <code>CAF.DLL</code>        - Content Access Framework (the application level APIs)
   143 // - <code>CAFUTILS.DLL</code>   - Utility classes used by agents, applications and CAF itself
   144 // - <code>F32AGENT.DLL</code>   - Agent for reading unprotected files
   145 // - <code>F32AGENTUI.DLL</code> - Agent for reading unprotected files
   146 // - <code>RECCAF.DLL</code>     - Data Recognizer for all agents within the Content Access Framework
   147 // <hr>
   148 // 
   149 //
   150 
   151 /**
   152  @page CAFIntroduction Introduction
   153  @section CAF_Contents Contents
   154  - @ref CAF_Status
   155  - @ref CAF_Intro
   156  - @ref CAF_Agents
   157  - @ref CAF_Agent_Interfaces
   158  - @ref CAFAPIs
   159  - @ref AboutArchives
   160  - @ref AboutDRM
   161  - @ref CAF_Intent
   162  - @ref AboutF32Agent
   163  - @ref AboutPrivDir
   164  - @ref CAF_Delivery
   165  @section CAF_Status Status
   166  @section CAF_Intro Overview
   167  @section CAF_Agents CAF Agents
   168  @li Indirect access to a private server directory
   169  @li Plain text access to protected content (even if the content is encrypted)
   170  @section CAF_Agent_Interfaces Agent Interfaces
   171  A CAF agent @e must implement a concrete factory derived from 
   172  @section CAFAPIs Content Access Framework APIs
   173  @section AboutArchives Access to content within archive files
   174  @section AboutDRM Digital Rights Management (DRM)
   175  specify their intent before using DRM protected content, see @ref CAF_Intent. 
   176  items may need to be disabled. For example, @e save or <i>send via Bluetooth</i> may not be permitted. 
   177  @section CAF_Intent DRM Intent
   178  @section AboutF32Agent The F32 Agent
   179  @section AboutPrivDir Sharing Content in a Private Directory
   180  @section CAF_Delivery Delivery
   181 */