-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 On Tuesday 10 February 2004 08:10 am, David Alan Blomberg wrote:
On Sat, 2004-02-07 at 00:36, Steven T. Hatton wrote:
One thing I feel confident about regarding LDAP is XML (or someting very similer) has a big role to play. LDAP schemas should be XMLized. I'm almost positive Netscape/IPlanet has their schema definitions completely specified in XML. I don't believe it was actually XML schema the last time I looked.
Say no to XML LDAP---LDAP is quite fine the way it is and XML version of LDAP files are a total pain. I convert companies from Novell to OpenLDAP and let me tell you Novell directories are being replaced because Novell talks a good game but their directories are piecemeal and impossible to maintain (type checking even gets disabled as Novell semms tpo work better that way.) -- David Blomberg
In the off chance I finally got my e-mail straightened out, I'm using my new and improved self to send this. There are several advantages to XML over LDAP schema and LDIF. It's been a few years since I worked with LDAP on a regular basis, but I do have a considerable background in the area. The two biggest advantages to XML from my perspective are that it 1) allows for extensive annotation, 2) is (ideally) easier to parse and validate. When you are working with simple directories, this may not be an issue, but when you start dealing with things as complex as access control for the Command and Control, and Combat Support of a deployed Joint Forces mission, there are several limitation one encounters when working with the traditional directory structures. I know very well that people at Novell understand these issues, at least at a theoretical level. When I stopped working in that area (I am incapable of defending people against their own stupidity), LDAP and XML were just beginning to mix. I don't know what others have done with it, but I know what I wanted to do. I will grant that XML can add complexity, and obfuscate certain aspects of LDAP, but this can, and should be handled by tools which parse the XML and present the user/administrator with only the essential data in such a way that it is easily understood and manipulated. I recently installed Novell's eDirectory on a SuSE box. It took a few false starts, but I finally got something up and running. This is really a 'back burner' project for me right now. It isn't inconsistent with my primary focus, but it isn't identical either. I'm trying to really get a handle on workign with stuff such as JAXB and Xindice. I believe object oriented databases have a significant role to pay in creating the Great Mother of all Directories. But that is a subject I keep kicking down the road. STH -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.2.2 (GNU/Linux) iD8DBQFAKXvzH2SF0i7rrGwRAupVAKCSA3qrRTOVgLDrwouImvj0eH2S8QCfUHKE Fw13cId0/NPj4l1j56+setM= =mC/Y -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----