LDAP data itself is stored in a binary format. LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF) is a plain-text representation of an LDAP entry that allows the import and export LDAP data, usually to transfer the data between systems, but it also allows you to use a text editor to modify the content.
The data for an entry in an LDIF file takes the form:
[id
] dn:distinguished_name
attribute_type
:value
| [attribute=
]value
[, [attribute=
]value
]... ... objectClass:value
...
The optional id
number is determined by the application that
you use to edit the entry. Each attribute type for an entry contains either a value or a
comma-separated list of attribute and value pairs as defined in the LDAP directory
schema.
There must be a blank line between each dn
definition section or
include:
line. There must not be any other blank lines or any white
space at the ends of lines. White space at the start of a line indicates a continuation of
the previous line.