[OSM-dev] Using the API for authentication only

[Nick Whitelegg]

As part of the OpenLayers Vector-based editor (see last week) I'd like to use 
the API simply for checking whether a supplied OSM username and password is 
valid.

At the moment I do this by asking the API for an arbitrary way (ID 1) and then 
checking whether the HTTP code is 401. However this is not the most efficient 
or elegant way of doing it. Is there any way I can just do an authentication 
without doing any database queries?

Thanks,
Nick