Patent ID: 7523200

Claim:
A method for dynamic access decision information retrieval, the method comprising: receiving a request for access decision information from an application, wherein the request identifies a plurality of entitlement information items for an entity and an identity of the entity, responsive to receiving the request starting a session for the entity in a dynamic information retrieval server data processing system; determining, at the dynamic information retrieval server data processing system, a given entitlement information provider for each one of the plurality of entitlement information items to form a plurality of entitlement information providers, wherein the plurality of entitlement information providers are determined based on the plurality of entitlement information items identified in the request that is received; retrieving, at the dynamic information retrieval server data processing system, a given entitlement information item from each one of the plurality of entitlement information providers, wherein retrieving the given entitlement information item from each one of the plurality of entitlement information providers includes generating a retrieval client for each one of the plurality of entitlement information providers to form a plurality of retrieval clients, wherein each one of the retrieval clients is generated by the session and retrieves entitlement information from a given one of the plurality of entitlement information providers that each one of the retrieval clients is associated with, wherein the retrieved entitlement information is returned to the session; forming a response, wherein the response includes the one or more entitlement information items; and returning the response to the application, wherein the application is an access manager that is operatively coupled to a web server that receives entity requests from the entity in order to make informed entity-specific entitlement decisions regarding a service requested by the entity, wherein each one of the retrieval clients generates a protocol module to form a plurality of protocol modules, and wherein each one of the protocol modules retrieves entitlement information from a given one of the entitlement information providers that each one of the protocol modules is associated with using a provider specific protocol that is compatible with the given one of the entitlement information providers.