What's New in the SDK?

This document acquaints you with new features in the Oracle Internet Directory Software Developer's Kit—both in the present release and in previous releases. Use the links provided to learn more about each feature.

New Features in the 10g (10.1.4.0.1) SDK

The 10g (10.1.4.0.1) SDK adds:

Java plug-in support.

Server plug-ins can now be written in Java as well as in PL/SQL. For more information, please see Chapter 11, "Developing Plug-ins for the Oracle Internet Directory Server" and Chapter 13, "Java Server Plug-ins".
Paging and sorting of LDAP search results.

You can now obtain paged and sorted results from LDAP searches. For more information, please see "Sorted LDAP Search Results" and "Paged LDAP Search Results" in Chapter 3, "Extensions to the LDAP Protocol".
Added functionality for hierarchical searches.

You can now traverse the hierarchy in either direction and specify the number of levels of the hierarchy to search. For more information, please see "Performing Hierarchical Searches"in Chapter 3, "Extensions to the LDAP Protocol".
Support for all three modes of SASL Digest-MD5 authentication.

Oracle Internet Directory now supports all three modes with the Java Naming and Directory Interface (JNDI) of jdk1.4 API or with the OpenLDAP Java API. For more information, please see "SASL Authentication" in Chapter 3, "Extensions to the LDAP Protocol" and "Example: Using SASL Digest-MD5 auth-int and auth-conf Modes" in Chapter 5, "Using the Java API Extensions to JNDI".

New Features in the Release 10.1.2 SDK

The release 10.1.2 SDK adds:

Centralized user provisioning.

This feature enables you to provision application users into the Oracle Identity Management infrastructure. To learn more, see Chapter 19, "Oracle Directory Integration Platform User Provisioning Java API Reference".
Dynamic password verifiers

This feature addresses the needs of applications that provide parameters for password verifiers only at runtime. To learn more, see "Creating Dynamic Password Verifiers" in Chapter 3.

Binary support for ldapmodify, ldapadd, and ldapcompare plug-ins

Directory plug-ins can now access binary attributes in the directory database. To learn more, see "Binary Support in the PL/SQLPlug-in Framework" in Chapter 12.
Plug-in support for the Oracle Directory Integration Platform Server

These Java hooks enable an enterprise to incorporate its own business rules and to tailor footprint creation to its needs. To learn more, see Appendix A.

New Features in the Release 9.0.4 SDK

The following features made their debut in the release 9.0.4 SDK:

URL API for Oracle Delegated Administration Services

This API enables you to build administrative and self-service consoles that delegated administrators can use to perform directory operations. To learn more, see Chapter 8.
PL/SQL API Enhancements:
- New functions in the LDAP v3 standard. Previously available only in the C API, these functions are now available in PL/SQL.
- Functions that enable proxied access to middle-tier applications.
- Functions that create and manage provisioning profiles in the Oracle Directory Integration Platform.
To learn more, see Chapter 7.
Plug-in support for external authentication

This feature enables administrators to use Microsoft Active Directory to store and manage security credentials for Oracle components. To learn more, see Chapter 11.
Server discovery using DNS

This feature enables directory clients to discover the host name and port number of a directory server. It reduces the cost of maintaining directory clients in large deployments. To learn more, see "Discovering a Directory Server" in Chapter 4.
XML support for the directory SDK and directory tools

This feature enables LDAP tools to process XML as well as LDIF notation. Directory APIs can manipulate data in a DSML 1.0 format.
Caching for client-side referrals

This feature enables clients to cache referral information, speeding up referral processing. To learn more, see "LDAP Session Handle Options" in Chapter 8.