Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is a protocol for accessing on-line s.

Origin
LDAP was defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in order to encourage adoption of directories. The (DAP) was seen as too complex for simple internet s to use. LDAP defines a relatively simple protocol for updating and searching directories running over TCP/IP. LDAP gained support from vendors such as Netscape,, Sun Microsystems, HP, IBM/Lotus, , AT&T, and.

Description
An LDAP directory entry is a collection of attributes with a name, called a distinguished name (DN). The DN refers to the entry unambiguously. Each of the entry's attributes has a and one or more values. The types are typically mnemonic strings, like "cn" for common name, or "mail" for. The values depend on the type. For example, a mail attribute might contain the value "donald.duck@disney.com". A "jpegPhoto" attribute would contain a photograph in binary JPEG format.

LDAP directory entries are arranged in a structure that reflects political, geographic, and/or organisational boundaries. Entries representing countries appear at the top of the tree. Below them are entries representing states or national organisations. Below them might be entries representing people, organizational units, printers, documents, or just about anything else.