The present invention describes a facility which may be used in conjunction
with SmartCard technology. Application Protocol Data Units (APDUs) are
used to communicate with SmartCards. The management of these units is the
primary focus and advantage of this facility. Smartcard environments can
require that the APDUs conform to an environment specific format, and they
can have different methods of sending information to and from a SmartCard.
Other tools exist which assist in creation of ADPUs for SmartCard
communication, but they are most likely tied to a single SmartCard
environment. Application Protocol Data Unit--Management Facility (AMF) has
numerous advantages over other APDU generation tools and are described.