Building Directory Server Plug-Ins

This section explains how to build plug-in binaries. This section deals with compilation requirements and with linking requirements for Directory Server plug-ins.

Include the Header File for the Plug-In API

The compiler needs to be able to locate the header files such as slapi-plugin.h. Find header files in install-path/include/.

Link the Plug-In as a Shared Object or Dynamic Link Library

Link plug-ins so the plug-in library is reentrant and portable and can be shared. The following example shows one way of building a plug-in library. The example works with the compiler that is used with a 64-bit Directory Server running on Solaris platforms.

Example 3-2 64-bit: Makefile for a Solaris Sample Plug-In Library

INCLUDE_FLAGS = -I../include
CFLAGS = $(INCLUDE_FLAGS) -D_REENTRANT -KPIC -xarch=v9 -DUSE_64
LDFLAGS = -G
DIR64 = 64

OBJS = dns.o entries.o hello.o internal.o testpwdstore.o \
 testsaslbind.o testextendedop.o testpreop.o testpostop.o \
 testentry.o testbind.o testgetip.o

all: MKDIR64 $(DIR64)/libtest-plugin.so

MKDIR64:
    @if [ ! -d $(DIR64) ]; then mkdir $(DIR64); fi

$(DIR64)/libtest-plugin.so: $(OBJS)
    $(LD) $(LDFLAGS) -o $@ $(OBJS)

.c.o:
    $(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $<

clean:
    -rm -f $(OBJS) libtest-plugin.so $(DIR64)/libtest-plugin.so

The CFLAGS -xarch=v9 and -DUSE_64 specify that the compiler builds the library for use with a 64-bit server. Notice also that the 64-bit library is placed in a directory that is named 64/. This extra directory is required for 64-bit plug-ins. A 64-bit server adds the name of the extra directory to the path name when searching for the library. Refer to Searching Plug-In Libraries for further information.

The following example shows a 32-bit equivalent of the Makefile.

Example 3-3 32-bit: Makefile for a Solaris Sample Plug-In Library

INCLUDE_FLAGS = -I../include
CFLAGS = $(INCLUDE_FLAGS) -D_REENTRANT -KPIC
LDFLAGS = -G

OBJS = dns.o entries.o hello.o internal.o testpwdstore.o \
 testsaslbind.o testextendedop.o testpreop.o testpostop.o \
 testentry.o testbind.o testgetip.o

all: libtest-plugin.so

libtest-plugin.so: $(OBJS)
    $(LD) $(LDFLAGS) -o $@ $(OBJS)

.c.o:
    $(CC) $(CFLAGS) -c $<

clean:
    -rm -f $(OBJS) libtest-plugin.so

Notice that both 32-bit versions and 64-bit versions of the plug-in library can coexist on the same host.

Locate the Example Build Rules

Build rules are in install-path/examples/. The rules are also in install-path/examples/Makefile64. Refer to these files for the recommended setup for compiling and linking on your platform.