14 About the Software Developer Kit

The Access Manager Software Developer's Kit (SDK) allows developers to enhance the Oracle Access Manager access management capabilities. The Access Manager SDK consists of libraries, build instructions, and examples that you (or Oblix) can use to build a custom AccessGate for Web and non-Web resources.

An AccessGate uses an Access Server to control attempts to access a Web site. An AccessGate is similar to the WebGate access client provided by Oracle Access Manager. The WebGate client acts as the interface between individual Web servers and the Access Server. The WebGate intercepts requests from users requesting Web resources and authorizes them through the Access Server.

AccessGates allow you to extend authorization and authentication rules to other resources in addition to URLs and to control user interaction with applications outside of Oracle Access Manager. This provides you with centralized policy information that applies to Web and non-Web resources.

The Access Manager SDK enables you to create an interface that can be built into commercially available application servers such as BEA's WebLogic, IBM's WebSphere, iPlanet's Application Server, or another application that can access the Access Server. The Access Manager API can integrate with Java and C/C++ applications.

The use of the SDK is optional and of interest only to developers. Therefore, information about installing the SDK is located in the Oracle Access Manager Developer Guide.

Certain functions in the Identity System require the Oracle Access Manager Software Developer Kit (SDK). By default, the SDK is installed in a subdirectory under \IdentityServer_install_dir\identity. Following Identity System set up, you must manually configure the SDK for the Identity System to enable required functions, as described in the Oracle Access Manager Identity and Common Administration Guide.