GenericIdentity Class

Represents a generic principal identity. This class is used to represent an identity that is not specific to a particular authentication authority, such as Windows or a certificate.

Namespace: System.Security.Principal

Assembly: mscorlib.dll

Syntax

public class GenericIdentity : IIdentity

Description

The GenericIdentity class provides a simple implementation of the IIdentity interface. It is useful when you need to represent an identity that doesn't have specific Windows or certificate-based properties. You can use it to create custom authentication schemes or for testing purposes.

Instances of the GenericIdentity class are immutable. Once created, their Name and IsAuthenticated properties cannot be changed.

Constructors

GenericIdentity(string name): Initializes a new instance of the GenericIdentity class with a specified user name. The identity is not authenticated.
GenericIdentity(string name, string type): Initializes a new instance of the GenericIdentity class with a specified user name and authentication type.

Properties

AuthenticationType: Gets the type of authentication used to authenticate the user.
IsAuthenticated: Gets a value indicating whether the user has been authenticated.
Name: Gets the name of the current user.

Methods

ToString(): Returns a string representation of the current object. This is the name of the user.

Examples

Creating a GenericIdentity

The following example shows how to create and use a GenericIdentity object.

// Create a new GenericIdentity
GenericIdentity userIdentity = new GenericIdentity("Alice", "MyCustomAuth");

// Check properties
Console.WriteLine($"User Name: {userIdentity.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"Authentication Type: {userIdentity.AuthenticationType}");
Console.WriteLine($"Is Authenticated: {userIdentity.IsAuthenticated}");

// Example of using it with GenericPrincipal
string[] roles = {"User"};
GenericPrincipal userPrincipal = new GenericPrincipal(userIdentity, roles);

Console.WriteLine($"User is in role 'User': {userPrincipal.IsInRole("User")}");
Console.WriteLine($"User is in role 'Admin': {userPrincipal.IsInRole("Admin")}");

Creating an Unauthenticated GenericIdentity

If the user is not authenticated, you can create a GenericIdentity without specifying an authentication type, or by setting IsAuthenticated to false (though the constructor doesn't directly support setting this, you'd typically use a derived class or a different approach for unauthenticated identities).

// Create an unauthenticated GenericIdentity (usually derived or handled by context)
// Note: The base GenericIdentity constructor does not directly set IsAuthenticated to false.
// A common pattern is to pass null or an empty string for authentication type and verify IsAuthenticated.
// In practice, an identity is typically authenticated if it's derived from this and validated.
// For demonstration, consider this represents a user before authentication.
GenericIdentity anonymousIdentity = new GenericIdentity("Guest"); // IsAuthenticated will be false by default for this constructor usage.

Console.WriteLine($"Anonymous User Name: {anonymousIdentity.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"Is Authenticated: {anonymousIdentity.IsAuthenticated}"); // Should be false

Note: When creating a GenericIdentity using the constructor that only takes a name, the IsAuthenticated property defaults to false. You typically use this for representing a user before authentication or in scenarios where authentication is handled externally.

Requirements

Namespace: System.Security.Principal

Framework: .NET Framework 1.1, .NET Framework 2.0, .NET Framework 3.0, .NET Framework 3.5, .NET Framework 4.0, .NET Framework 4.5, .NET Framework 4.6, .NET Framework 4.7, .NET Framework 4.8, .NET Core 1.0, .NET Core 1.1, .NET Core 2.0, .NET Core 2.1, .NET Core 2.2, .NET Standard 1.0, .NET Standard 1.1, .NET Standard 1.2, .NET Standard 1.3, .NET Standard 1.4, .NET Standard 1.5, .NET Standard 1.6, .NET Standard 2.0, .NET 5, .NET 6, .NET 7, .NET 8

Platform: Windows, Linux, macOS