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Advanced Topics for LDAP Users
How LDAP Operations Map to JNDI APIs
The LDAP defines a set of operations or requests (see RFC 2251). In the JNDI, these map to operations on the
DirContext and
LdapContext interfaces (which are sub interfaces of
Context). For example, when a caller invokes a DirContext method, the LDAP service provider implements the method by sending LDAP requests to the LDAP server.
The following table shows how operations in the LDAP correspond to JNDI methods.
| LDAP Operation |
Corresponding JNDI Methods |
| bind |
The corresponding way of creating an initial connection to the LDAP server in the JNDI is the creation of an
InitialDirContext. When the application creates an initial context, it supplies client authentication information via environment properties. To change that authentication information for an existing context, use
Context.addToEnvironment() and
Context.removeFromEnvironment(). |
| unbind |
Context.close() is used to free resources used by a context. It differs from the LDAP "unbind" operation in that within a given service provider implementation, resources can be shared among contexts, so closing one context won't free all of the resources if those resources are being shared with another context. Make sure to close all contexts if your intent is to free all resources. |
| search |
The corresponding method in the JNDI is the overloading of
DirContext.search() that accepts a search filter (RFC 2254). See the
filter example. |
| modify |
The corresponding method in the JNDI is the overloading of
DirContext.modifyAttributes() that accepts an array of
DirContext.ModificationItems. See the
Modify Attributes section for an example. |
| add |
The corresponding methods in the JNDI are
DirContext.bind() and
DirContext.createSubcontext(). You can use either to add a new LDAP entry. Using bind(), you can specify not only a set of attributes for the new entry but also a Java object to be added along with the attributes. See the
Add, replace bindings with Attributes section for an example. |
| delete |
The corresponding methods in the JNDI are
Context.unbind() and
Context.destroySubcontext(). You can use either to remove an LDAP entry. |
| modify DN/RDN |
The corresponding method in the JNDI is
Context.rename(). See the
Renaming Objects section for more details. |
| compare |
The corresponding operation in the JNDI is a suitably constrained
DirContext.search(). See the
LDAP Compare section for an example. |
| abandon |
When you close a context, all of its outstanding requests are abandoned. Similarly, when you close a
NamingEnumeration, the corresponding LDAP "search" request is abandoned. |
| extended operation |
The corresponding method in the JNDI is
LdapContext.extendedOperation(). See the
JNDI Tutorial for more details. |
