What is SASL?

SASL (Simple Authentication and Security Layer) is a framework for authentication and data security in Internet protocols. It provides a generalized mechanism for adding authentication support to connection-based protocols, allowing applications to use various authentication methods without needing to directly implement them. SASL is commonly used with protocols like IMAP, SMTP, LDAP, and XMPP to negotiate an authentication mechanism between client and server, ensuring secure communication.