Patent ID: 7761468

Claim:
A method for enabling a database driver to interoperate with multiple types of security mechanisms and provide a connection between a client and a database server, wherein a plurality of different ones of said security mechanisms are used by said database server and one or more clients, and said security mechanisms include one or more security mechanisms created by a user for particular ones of clients and database servers, the method comprising: providing a security interface in the database driver, wherein said security interface supports and interoperates with each of said plurality of security mechanisms used by said database server and said one or more clients including said security mechanisms created by said user for particular ones of clients and database servers, the security interface including: a generic interface supporting and being operable to interoperate with each of said plurality of different security mechanisms that is non-compliant with an interface standard, wherein said non-compliant security mechanisms include at least one said security mechanism created by said user, and wherein said generic interface is further operable to retrieve security information created in response to authentication of a user by, and in accordance with, the security mechanism used by a corresponding client to facilitate connection with the database server; and a set of specialized interfaces, the set of specialized interfaces supporting and being operable to interoperate with each of said plurality of different security mechanisms that is compliant with said interface standard, wherein said compliant security mechanisms include at least one said security mechanism created by said user, and wherein the set of specialized interfaces are further operable to retrieve security information created in response to authentication of a user by, and in accordance with, the security mechanism used by a corresponding client to facilitate connection with the database server; determining whether the security mechanism used by a client is compliant with said interface standard; providing a connection between the client and the database server using the generic interface in response to the security mechanism used by the client being non-compliant with said interface standard and verification of the client based on the security information retrieved by the generic interface; and providing a connection between the client and the database server using the set of specialized interfaces in response to the security mechanism used by the client being compliant with said interface standard and verification of the client based on the security information retrieved by the set of specialized interfaces, wherein the security mechanism used by the client is operable to ensure the connection between the client and the database server is established in a secure manner.