Chapter 12. What Are Directory Services?

  • Some Background

  • Introducing Java Naming Directory Interface

  • Using the JNDI to Access LDAP-Based Data

Directory services are the services provided by special network databases that are used, much as paper phone books are (i.e., to map names to addresses, phone numbers, and services). The directory is really a distributed hierarchically arranged database made up of keys and associated attribute name/value pairs.

Whether or not you realize it, you use directory services whenever you use the Internet. The Domain Name System is a form of directory, although not as general purpose as the directories we will be discussing in this chapter. DNS provides a UDP-based naming lookup service, namely that of mapping IP addresses ...

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