There's a nice balance in this text among the background and theory of Internet directories and the many useful sample programs that show LDAP and Java in action. After outlining the development of the LDAP standard, this text gives you concise examples of using Internet directories for such applications as phone books, organizational charts, storing photo IDs centrally, and even providing "location transparency" for user preferences. (This capability allows users to access personalized settings from anywhere on a network.) Other standout material includes security and authentication, including some good detail on signing JAR files for both Netscape and Internet Explorer Web browsers.

This book also provides working sample code for combining LDAP with a variety of Java and Internet APIs such as applets, JavaScript, JavaBeans, and servlets. The working source code is clearly explained, and the authors do a fine job of describing essential programming strategies like authentication and LDAP searching. Filled with practical Java source code and tips, LDAP programming with Java is an up-to-the-minute resource on using Internet directories to improve software in the enterprise. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Introduction to the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP); history and advantages of Internet directories; the X.500 standard; installing and using the Directory SDK for Java; command-line LDAP; LDAP Data Interchange Format (LDIF); Distinguished Names (DNs); LDAP searching options; filters and attributes; LDAP authentication techniques; adding, updating, and deleting directory entries; groups; access control lists; using the Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL); using LDAP with applets and JavaScript; JAR signing; LDAP and JavaBeans; location transparency with LDAP; storing organizational structures; pictures and user preferences; LDAP and servlets; options and constraints; LDAP URLs; managing schemas; LDAP controls and referrals; extended operations.

Book Description
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is now a staple of enterprise and Internet software environments. Those involved in Internet development where Java(tm) technology is prominent or in Enterprise Information Systems, will need to understand how to use Java technology - and in particular the Directory SDK for Java - to unlock the power of LDAP.

Written by the designer of the Directory SDK for Java and by a leading implementor of directory-based solutions, LDAP programming with Java(tm) is the first accurate, concise, and complete guide on how to access LDAP from Java applications. Assuming familiarity with Java programming, the book provides a comprehensive discussion on LDAP, from basic directory concepts through the most advanced techniques. It collects in one convenient resource the many innovative and experienced-based techniques and approaches programmers have discovered to use the Directory SDK to solve LDAP Access challenges.

If you are new to LDAP, you will find helpful background on the role of directories in today's software systems; LDAP methods of storing, accessing, searching, and updating data; and how the Directory SDK for Java helps applications gain access to an LDAP server. Once you have become proficient with the essential concepts and techniques, you can read in depth about authentication, LDAP and JavaScript, working with JavaBeans(tm) for reusable LDAP components, expressing data relationships in a directory, and other advanced LDAP subjects.

Specific topics covered include:

* The LDAP naming and information models * The command-line tools of the SDK * Authentication with a DN password, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and Simple Authentication and Security Layer (SASL) * Configuring access control * Writing LDAP applets for a browser * Accessing the SDK from JavaScript * Storing Configuration and preferences in a directory * Encapsulating LDAP functionality in a JavaBean * Using LDAP in Java servlets * LDAP URLs * Multiple threads and multiple connections * Referrals and replicated systems * LDAP controls * Synchronous and asynchronous operations * Performance tips

The book also presents numerous examples, from simple code snippets to complete components and applications. The companion CD contains the entire book in searchable format, source code for the Directory SDK, and all of the examples from the book.