contentmgmt/contentaccessfwfordrm/engineering/dox/CAFIntroduction.dox
author savpatil@2INL09984
Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:59:39 +0530
changeset 11 9d767430696e
parent 8 35751d3474b7
parent 6 50f2ff6984be
child 31 c0e7917aa107
permissions -rw-r--r--
Merged in changes from the tip of RCL_1 branch which includes fixes for Bug 284, Bug 383, Bug 287. These were wiped out from when the S^3 code drop came in.

// Copyright (c) 2006-2009 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies).
// All rights reserved.
// This component and the accompanying materials are made available
// under the terms of the License "Eclipse Public License v1.0"
// which accompanies this distribution, and is available
// at the URL "http://www.eclipse.org/legal/epl-v10.html".
//
// Initial Contributors:
// Nokia Corporation - initial contribution.
//
// Contributors:
//
// Description:
// <hr>
// The Content Access Framework is at released status in Symbian OS v9.1
// <hr>
// The Symbian OS Content Access Framework (CAF) provides services that
// enable agents to publish content in a generic manner that is easy for 
// applications to use. 
// Applications will access content the same way regardless of whether the
// content is plain text, located in a server's private directory, or
// DRM protected.
// Content can be, for example, media files or a level in a game; applications
// would be, for example, a video/sound player or an internet browser; 
// DRM stands for Digital Rights Management.
// <hr>
// The CAF defines an ECom plug-in interface, for third-party CAF Agents. The interface
// allows new agents to be integrated at a later date, dynamically if required. 
// The specification for this interface can be found in <code>ContentAccess::CAgentFactory</code>.
// CAF Agents can be written to provide the following functions:
// The CAF framework does not provide any capability enforcement so it is the responsiblity 
// of the agent to police access to the APIs. The agent can choose to deny some operations 
// in the CAF API based upon application's capabilities or the agent's own policy relating 
// to the use of that API. 
// <hr>
// <code>ContentAccess::CAgentFactory</code>. This is the ECom interface for a CAF Agent.
// The agent's factory will produce products derived from:
// -# <code>ContentAccess::CAgentContent</code>
// -# <code>ContentAccess::CAgentData</code>
// -# <code>ContentAccess::CAgentImportFile</code>
// -# <code>ContentAccess::CAgentManager</code>
// -# <code>ContentAccess::CAgentRightsManager</code>
// These products provide the services described in the introduction (above) on a per 
// agent basis.
// <hr>
// Generally, these APIs fall into four areas:
// <b>Supplier API</b> 
// The Supplier API is used to handle the delivery and transformation of content.
// It can be used to transform DRM protected files when they arrive on a device into 
// a form that allows them to be stored securely on the device.
// It can also be used intercept content and ensure it is stored in an agent's private 
// directory.
// See the classes <code>ContentAccess::CSupplier</code> and <code>ContentAccess::CImportFile</code>
// <b>Consumer API</b> 
// Allows applications to read the content as if it were stored as plain text regardless
// of how it is actually stored on the device. For instance it might be encrypted.
// The consumer API will be used by applications rendering content and/or multimedia 
// plug-ins. By rendering we mean reading data from a file, transforming it, then playing 
// or displaying it on the device.
// See the classes <code>ContentAccess::CContent</code> and <code>ContentAccess::CData</code>.
// <b>Manager API</b> 
// The management of files and content access agents.
// See <code>ContentAccess::CManager</code>
// <b>Rights Manager API</b> 
// A generic API used to manage DRM rights within a particular DRM agent
// See <code>ContentAccess::CRightsManager</code>
// <hr>
// An archive file contains content objects and other containers within the file. Each
// container within the file may contain more content objects or further containers.
// Common examples of archive files are zip and tar files.
// The Content Access Framework allows applications to open archive files and read 
// content from inside them. The content objects and containers inside the 
// file can be traversed using the <code>ContentAccess::CContent</code> class. 
// This class allows applications to use the content within these container files 
// without needing to understand any specifics of the compression or storage mechanism 
// used by the archive.
// <hr>
// The Content Access Framework also provides an abstact way to access DRM protected 
// content. An agent can be designed to implement a DRM scheme.
// Applications use DRM protected files in the same way they would use any other file. 
// The agent enforces the rights applied to the content. Also, it prevents access when rights
// have expired or if the file is accessed by applications without DRM capability.
// To enforce the protection of the content the agent must know what the client intends 
// to do with the content once it has read the plain-text version of that content. Therefore, applications must 
// Applications should \b always specify their intent, whether or not they will using DRM protected content. 
// Non-DRM agents will just ignore the call, but it means the application does not need to treat DRM content 
// as a special case.
// One occasion where applications do need to treat DRM as a special case is where User Interface menu 
// Applications can use the <code>GetAttribute()</code> functions to determine whether the operation is allowed on any 
// given content object.
// Finally any application or plug-in that reads DRM content must handle the unencrypted version of 
// the content responsibly. Only applications proven to work this way will be given the DRM capability. 
// <hr>
// The evaluation of DRM rights hinges on the correct supply of 'DRM
// Intent' from the trusted rendering application to the Content Access
// Framework. The framework provides a number of options so that the
// application can query and evaluate rights appropriately. 
// Briefly, the CAF allows a renderer to:
// - <b>Evalute intent</b> \n
// e.g., ask the question "Could I play this now if I wanted to?". \n
// Here, the ability is queried, but no stateful rights modifications are made.
// - <b>Execute intent</b> \n
// e.g., indicate "I have played this now". \n
// In this example, the CAF would instruct the agent to evaluate and process
// the rights, thus modifying any stateful rights 
// (i.e., rights that have state, e.g. content that has an expiry date or content that can only be played three times, say).
// Essentially, renders will begin by evaluating intent when the \c CData object
// is created. When the content has been rendered successfully, they will execute 
// the intent to ensure that stateful rights are then processed.
// The recommended intent values (for renders and agents to support) are given in <code>ContentAccess::TIntent</code>:
// - \c EPeek: Do not process or evaluate rights in any way
// - \c EPlay: Play the target content (OMA)
// - \c Eview: View the target content (OMA)
// - \c EExecute: Execute the target content (OMA). Note: only supported in
// a Java context
// - \c EPrint: Print the target content (OMA)
// - \c EPause: Pause content playback
// - \c EContinue: Continue content playback
// - \c EUnknown: Client has no idea what the content will be used for. DRM Agents can deny this intent allowing only unprotected content to be accessed this way.
// <hr>
// The F32 Agent provides access to unprotected files. It is really just a wrapper around <code>RFile</code>.
// The Content Access Framework treats the F32 agent as a special case. If no other suitable 
// agent is responsible for a file or directory the F32 Agent will be used. 
// The F32 Agent runs in the same process and thread as the calling application so any 
// file operations it performs will be limited to the file operations permitted for 
// the calling application's process
// <hr>
// Some agents may provide access to files stored in their private directory. They
// can advertise the files' existence to applications through their implementation 
// of the <code>ContentAccess::CAgentManager::GetDir()</code> function.
// In the file system the private directories have the format 
// <code>\\private\\xxxxxxxx\\directory_1\\...directory_n\\filename.ext</code>
// where <code>xxxxxxxx</code> is the UID of the agent.
// CAF will translate that path so applications see the file as:
// <code>\\private\\agent_name\\directory_1\\...directory_n\\filename.ext</code>
// where <code>agent_name</code> is the name of the agent.
// When an application opens a file stored in the private directory, CAF selects the 
// agent which handles that content based upon the name in the path. If the file is not 
// stored in a private directory, CAF asks each of the agents in turn whether they support 
// the file. If no agent supports the file, it will be read as plaintext using the <code>F32Agent</code>.
// <hr>
// - <code>CAF.DLL</code>        - Content Access Framework (the application level APIs)
// - <code>CAFUTILS.DLL</code>   - Utility classes used by agents, applications and CAF itself
// - <code>F32AGENT.DLL</code>   - Agent for reading unprotected files
// - <code>F32AGENTUI.DLL</code> - Agent for reading unprotected files
// - <code>RECCAF.DLL</code>     - Data Recognizer for all agents within the Content Access Framework
// <hr>
// 
//

/**
 @page CAFIntroduction Introduction
 @section CAF_Contents Contents
 - @ref CAF_Status
 - @ref CAF_Intro
 - @ref CAF_Agents
 - @ref CAF_Agent_Interfaces
 - @ref CAFAPIs
 - @ref AboutArchives
 - @ref AboutDRM
 - @ref CAF_Intent
 - @ref AboutF32Agent
 - @ref AboutPrivDir
 - @ref CAF_Delivery
 @section CAF_Status Status
 @section CAF_Intro Overview
 @section CAF_Agents CAF Agents
 @li Indirect access to a private server directory
 @li Plain text access to protected content (even if the content is encrypted)
 @section CAF_Agent_Interfaces Agent Interfaces
 A CAF agent @e must implement a concrete factory derived from 
 @section CAFAPIs Content Access Framework APIs
 @section AboutArchives Access to content within archive files
 @section AboutDRM Digital Rights Management (DRM)
 specify their intent before using DRM protected content, see @ref CAF_Intent. 
 items may need to be disabled. For example, @e save or <i>send via Bluetooth</i> may not be permitted. 
 @section CAF_Intent DRM Intent
 @section AboutF32Agent The F32 Agent
 @section AboutPrivDir Sharing Content in a Private Directory
 @section CAF_Delivery Delivery
*/