Sun Java(TM) System Directory Server 5 2004Q2 Plug-In Developer's Guide |
Preface
The Directory Server Plug-In Developer’s Guide contains the information you need in order to develop server plug-ins, libraries registered with Directory Server that customize and extend server capabilities. This guide also lists what has changed since the last release, so you can upgrade 4.x plug-ins for use with Directory Server 5.2.
This preface contains the following sections:
Before performing any of the tasks described in this guide, read the Directory Server Release Notes.
Who Should Read This GuideThis guide is intended for developers extending Directory Server functionality.
The author of this guide assumes you are familiar with the following:
How This Guide Is OrganizedThis guide is divided into these chapters:
Helps you decide whether to implement a server plug-in, and what to do next if you choose to implement one.
Covers changes to the plug-in API since the 4.x releases.
Provides an introduction to creating Directory Server plug-ins and enabling the server to use them.
Covers plug-in API features for handling directory entries, attributes, attribute values, and Distinguished Names (DNs). It also deals with converting entries to and from LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF) strings, and with checking whether entries comply with LDAP schema.
Covers support in the plug-in API for modifying what Directory Server does before or after carrying out operations for clients.
Explains how to write a plug-in that adds to, bypasses, or replaces the authentication mechanisms supported for Directory Server.
Covers how to perform search, add, modify, modify RDN, and delete operations for which no corresponding client requests exist.
Covers how to write plug-ins that modify how Directory Server operates when writing entries to and reading entries from the directory database.
Covers how to write plug-ins to take advantage of LDAP version 3 extended operations, defined in RFC 2251.
Covers plug-ins that enable Directory Server to handle custom matching rules.
Covers how to write plug-ins that let you modify how Directory Server stores password attribute values.
Points to the global system glossary.
Using the DocumentationThe Directory Server manuals are available as online files in Portable Document Format (PDF) and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) formats. Both formats are readable by assistive technologies for users with disabilities. The Sun documentation web site can be accessed here:
The Directory Server documentation set can be accessed here:
http://docs.sun.com/coll/DirectoryServer_04q2
Table 1 briefly describes each document in the set. The left column provides the name and Web location of each document. The right column describes the general contents of the document.
ConventionsTable 2 describes the typeface conventions used in this guide.
Table 3 describes placeholder conventions used in this guide.
Table 4 describes the symbol conventions used in this book.
Table 5 describes the shell prompt conventions used in this book.
Table 5 Shell Prompts
Shell
Prompt
C shell
machine-name%
C shell superuser
machine-name#
Bourne shell and Korn shell
$
Bourne shell and Korn shell superuser
#
Resources and Tools on the WebThe following location contains information about Java Enterprise System and its component products such as Directory Server:
http://wwws.sun.com/software/learnabout/enterprisesystem/index.html
Some supported platforms provide native tools for accessing Directory Server. For additional tools you may find useful when testing and maintaining LDAP directory servers, download the Sun Java System Directory Server Resource Kit (DSRK). This software is available at the following location:
http://wwws.sun.com/software/download/
Installation instructions and reference documentation for the DSRK tools are available in the Directory Server Resource Kit Tools Reference.
For developing directory client applications, you may also download the Sun Java System Directory SDK for C and the Sun Java System Directory SDK for Java from the same location.
Additionally, Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) technology supports accessing Directory Server using LDAP and DSML v2 from Java applications. Information about JNDI is available from:
http://java.sun.com/products/jndi/
The JNDI Tutorial contains detailed descriptions and examples of how to use JNDI. It is available at:
http://java.sun.com/products/jndi/tutorial/
Third-party URLs are included in this document to provide additional, related information.
How to Report ProblemsIf you have problems with Directory Server, contact Sun customer support using one of the following mechanisms:
So that we can best assist you in resolving problems, please have the following information available when you contact support:
- Description of the problem, including the situation where the problem occurs and its impact on your operation
- Machine type, operating system version, and product version, including any patches and other software that might be affecting the problem
- Detailed steps on the methods you have used to reproduce the problem
- Any error logs or core dumps
Sun Welcomes Your CommentsSun is interested in improving its documentation and welcomes your comments and suggestions. Use the web-based form to provide feedback to Sun:
Please provide the full document title and part number in the appropriate fields. The part number is a seven-digit or nine-digit number that can be found on the title page of the book or at the top of the document. For example, the part number of this Plug-In Developer’s Guide is 817-5222-05.