In one phrase, managing Zope security involves managing information about users and their roles, and object permissions that are bound to these roles. Managing Users Within a Zope site, users are represented by objects called User Objects which are managed in special folders called User Folders. User objects maintain the information needed to identify and authenticate users with the security system. Other user folders may use different authentication information. Users are tied into the authorization system by their assignment of roles.
Roles describe the kind of responsibility and authorization possessed by a user.
Controlling Access to Objects Access control or authorization is defined in terms of which roles are assigned to which permissions. Later in the Zope Security Applications chapter, we will see the specifics of managing authorization in Zope. Managing Permissions and Roles Administrators can create new roles and apply them to security settings on objects. When a role is added at a particular point in an object hierarchy, it is made available for use at that point and below. Zope has pre-defined roles that have either a special meaning or a conventional usage.