Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) is a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, is generally referred to as LDAP. It is based on the X.500 standard, but much simpler and can be customized. Different with X.500, LDAP supports TCP / IP, which is access to Internet is necessary. LDAP in the core specification are defined in the RFC, all LDAP related RFC can be found in the LDAPman RFC website.
LDAP Introduction
Simply put, LDAP is a person or resources are concentrated on the static data, quick way.
 LDAP is used to publish directory information to many different resources to the agreement. Usually it is used as a centralized address book to use, but according to the needs of the organizers, it can do more powerful.
LDAP in real terms
LDAP is a directory, similar to what we use, such as NIS (Network Information Service), DNS (Domain Name Service) and other network directories, similar to what you see in the garden and trees.
 Many developers like to LDAP LDAP compared with the relational database, that is another kind of storage method, and compare performance in reading. In fact, the basis of this comparison is wrong. LDAP and relational databases are two concepts at different levels, which is storage means (the same level, such as grid database, object database), the former is the storage model and access protocol. LDAP is a higher level of abstraction than the relational database's storage concept, and the relational database query language SQL is the same level. The most basic form of LDAP is a standard way of connecting to the database. The database is optimized for read queries. So it can quickly get the query results, but in other ways, such as updating to much more slowly.
Special database
Another sense is to achieve the specified LDAP data structure storage, it is a special database. But the LDAP and general databases, understand this is very important. LDAP is optimized for query, write performance compared with the performance to be outstanding LDAP read a lot.
 As Sybase, Oracle, Informix, or Microsoft's database management system (DBMS) is used for processing relational database queries and updates as, LDAP server is used to process the query and update LDAP directories. In other words LDAP directory is a type of database, but not a relational database. To note that, LDAP is often used as a hierarchical database, not a relational database. Therefore, its structure than a tree to represent a good form. Because of this, can not use the SQL statement.
 LDAP technology is very exciting very quickly. Achieved within the enterprise LDAP can run on almost any computer platform for all applications to obtain information from the LDAP directory. LDAP directory to store various types of data: e-mail address and message routing information, human resources data, public key, contact list, and so on. Through the LDAP directory as a system integration is an important aspect of staff within the enterprise to simplify the steps query information, and even the main data source can be placed anywhere.