LDAP

LDAP

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol. An implementation of the industry standard X.500 directory protocol developed for PCs and the internet. Unlike X.500, LDAP is designed for IP, has a small footprint, is simple to implement and is faster and less network-intensive than X.500. Also abbreviated to "LDap".

Put simply, LDAP is a protocol for querying directory services (such as the Windows Active Directory or DNS servers) over TCP/IP.

cf LDIF.

For more information see:

• www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/winntas/plan/ldapcmr.mspx - Microsoft strategy for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol.
• http://labmice.techtarget.com/activedirectory/AD_ldap.htm - Windows 2000 Active Directory Resources
• www.ldapman.org/articles/intro_to_ldap.html - An Introduction to LDAP.