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Authorization Services Tasks

This chapter provides instructions and code samples for tasks you can accomplish with Authorization Services. You can adapt these samples in your own application to

• Restrict access to parts of your own application

• Call system utilities

• Edit privileged files

• Install your privileged tools

A simple, self-restricting application needs to restrict a user from the application’s own operations with minimal security concerns—for example, a grades-and-transcripts application might only allow the registrar to create transcripts. Read “Authorizing in a Simple, Self-Restricted Application” if you have a self-restricting application.

If you have a factored application—for example, an application that must perform an operation as root, such as restarting a daemon—you should read both “Authorizing in a Simple, Self-Restricted Application” and “Authorizing in a Factored Application.”

If your installer must perform a privileged operation, read “Calling a Privileged Installer” to see an example of an installer using Authorization Services.

See http://developer.apple.com/samplecode/Sample_Code/Security.htm for sample applications that perform system-restricted privileged operations.

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