public FilterChain getChain(ServletRequest request, ServletResponse response, FilterChain originalChain) { FilterChainManager filterChainManager = getFilterChainManager(); if (!filterChainManager.hasChains()) { return null; } String requestURI = getPathWithinApplication(request); //the 'chain names' in this implementation are actually path patterns defined by the user. We just use them //as the chain name for the FilterChainManager's requirements for (String pathPattern : filterChainManager.getChainNames()) { // If the path does match, then pass on to the subclass implementation for specific checks: if (pathMatches(pathPattern, requestURI)) { if (log.isTraceEnabled()) { log.trace("Matched path pattern [" + pathPattern + "] for requestURI [" + requestURI + "]. " + "Utilizing corresponding filter chain..."); } return filterChainManager.proxy(originalChain, pathPattern); } } return null; }