[Springframework-developer] Acegi Security's ContextHolder replaced by SecurityContext

[Ben A. <ben...@ac...>]

Pursuant to Juergen's recommendation 
(http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.java.springframework.devel/8290), 
Acegi Security CVS has now had its ContextHolder and related classes 
removed. This functionality has been replaced by SecurityContext, which 
is an InheritableThreadLocal that provides a single getter/setter pair 
for Authentication.

This is a significant change for end users, but offers a number of benefits:

- Consistency with Spring core's use of a concrete ThreadLocal per 
functional area
- SecurityContext is strictly typed (which eliminates the need for casting)
- Simplified configuration as no need to specify a Context 
implementation for HttpSessionContextIntegrationFilter
- InheritableThreadLocal used instead of ThreadLocal to simplify rich 
client usage (see http://forum.springframework.org/viewtopic.php?t=5004)
- Elimination of handling the extra Context layer means less end user 
code is required

Unit tests pass and I've updated the upgrade-080-090.txt in some detail. 
The reference guide has also been updated.

It would be appreciated if developers could try the latest CVS with 
their applications and report any difficulties. General feedback on this 
change is also welcome.

Cheers
Ben