•Subject (principal) -
the user; the entity being authenticated.
The subject could be a
human, but could also be some other kind of entity, such as a company or a computer.
–Note: I
will use "subject" and "user" interchangeably.
•Asserting party (SAML
authority) - a system entity that makes SAML assertions.
–Also called
the Identity Provider (IdP).
•Relying party (SAML
requestor) - a system entity that uses the received assertions.
–Also called
the Service Provider (SP).