Patent ID: 7284271
Filing Date: 2007-10-16
Classification: G06F,G06Q,H04L

Abstract:
1. In a computer network that includes different types of data structures of one or more specific entities, a method for authorizing a requesting entity to operate upon data structures in a standard manner, the method comprising: an act of maintaining a plurality of role templates that define basic access permissions with respect to one or more command methods, wherein at least some of the role templates define the basic access permissions in a manner that is independent of the type of data structure being operated upon, and wherein the plurality of role templates are contained within a plurality of role map documents, each role map document being specific to a particular computerized service that is configured to perform computerized operations on data structures; an act of maintaining a plurality of role definitions that define access permissions for requesting entities by using one or more of the role templates; an act of receiving a request from the requesting entity to perform at least one of the command methods, the request identifying the requesting entity as well as an application-platform identifier corresponding to an application of the computerized service; an act of identifying a role definition corresponding to the requesting entity; and an act of determining access permissions for the requesting entity with respect to the command method using the role definition corresponding to the requesting entity.