first_attribute Function

This function fetches the first attribute of a given entry in the result set.

Syntax

DBMS_LDAP.first_attribute (

ld  IN  SESSION,
msg  IN  MESSAGE,
ber_elem  OUT BER_ELEMENT)

RETURN VARCHAR2;

Parameters

Table 20-34 first_attribute Function Parameter

Parameter	Description
ld (IN)	A valid LDAP session handle
msg (IN)	The entry whose attributes are to be stepped through, as returned by first_entry or next_entry
ber_elem (OUT)	A handle to a BER ELEMENT that is used to keep track of which attribute in the entry has been read

Return Values

Table 20-35 first_attribute Function Return Values

Value	Description
VARCHAR2	The name of the attribute if it exists. NULL if no attribute exists or if an error occurred.
ber_elem	A handle used by DBMS_LDAP.next_attribute to iterate over all of the attributes

Exceptions

Table 20-36 first_attribute Function Exceptions

Exception	Description
invalid_session	Raised if the session handle ld is invalid.
invalid_message	Raised if the incoming msg handle is invalid.

Usage Notes

The handle to the BER_ELEMENT returned as a function parameter to first_attribute should be used in the next call to next_attribute to iterate through the various attributes of an entry. The name of the attribute returned from a call to first_attribute can in turn be used in calls to the functions get_values or get_values_len to get the values of that particular attribute.

See Also: "first_entry Function" "next_entry Function" "next_attribute Function" "get_values Function" "get_values_len Function"