Where to Go From Here

Most of the rest of this guide is devoted to examples that demonstrate the specific plug-in types.

Never develop plug-ins on a production server, but instead on a test server used specifically for plug-in development.

Prepare Your Development Environment

You might not have installed Sun Java System Directory Server software. You might not have installed development software for the C language for use during plug-in development. Install the software now. Without development tools and a functioning Directory Server, you cannot use the examples discussed here.

Learn About Plug-In Development

If you have not yet written a plug-in for the current release, refer to Chapter 4, Getting Started With Directory Server Plug-Ins. The chapter helps you to build a simple plug-in, and to register the plug-in with Directory Server.

Upgrade Existing Plug-Ins

If you maintain plug-ins developed for a previous release of Directory Server, refer to Chapter 2, Changes to the Plug-In API Since Directory Server 5.2 and Chapter 3, Changes to the Plug-In API From Directory Server 4 to Directory Server 5.2 for information about what has changed.

Try a Sample Plug-In

Examples for several plug-in types are provided with the product in install-path/examples Subsequent chapters demonstrate the use of the sample plug-ins.

Find Details

See Part II, Directory Server Plug-In API Reference for details about particular data structures, functions, and parameter block semantics.