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- Entity Category, defined in RFC8409, are is a metadata 'labelslabel' applied to either identity providers or services which may be used under certain conditions, as which signal that they belong to the category which is described in the Entity Category specification, to indicate a grouping of entities. Metadata consumers which understand the Entity Category can alter their behaviour depending on the categories that the entity belongs to. Entity Categories may be used to signal commonly used attribute requirements, or commitment to a certain set of behavioural rules. Taking "Hide from Discovery" as an example: identity providers in this category do not want to be listed by default in discovery services; metadata consumers may be service providers that build their own discovery interfaces, or the metadata consumer may be a third party discovery service.
- Entity Attribute are metadata labels applied to either identity providers or services to signal assurance certifications.
- Profiles, which define a standard to signal certain behaviour in a federated authentication transaction, and how to respond to such a request.
- Metadata Extension, provide an extention to existing metadata profiles.
- Frameworks, are currenlty basically assurance frameworks, which provide a structured means of describing or defining the main sources of assurance provided within the federation by the member entities or the federation itself.
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