LDAP Functions(4.1)
The LDAP functions allow you to connect to an LDAP, using anonymous or simple authentication, and modify and delete entries or perform searches based on names, filters and explicitly define what attributes to be returned. The LDAP functions use connection pooling for best performance.
Note!
Due to the nature of LDAP, the following functions are not transaction safe and should therefore be used mainly for realtime workflows.
LDAP Related UDR Type
The UDR type created by default in the LDAP agent can be viewed in the UDR Internal Format Browser. To open the browser open an APL Editor, in the editing area right-click and select UDR Assistance...; the browser opens.
Error Handling
The default error handling for the functions ldapCreate
, ldapSearch
, and ldapScopeSearch
is to handle all errors as exceptions, which means that the workflow will abort in the batch case and the request will typically be discarded in the realtime case.
If this is not desired behavior, it is possible to set these LDAP functions to suppress all communication errors and instead return null
in error situations. In this case the error will be made available through the ldapGetLastError
function.
Network Timeout Property
If there are network problems when communicating with the LDAP server the LDAP plugin commands use a network timeout of 5 minutes. This default timeout can be modified by setting the property mz.ldap.network.timeout
to a timeout in milliseconds.
Set the property in the cell.conf
or the relevant Execution Context <pico>.conf
, depending on where where the workflow is executed.
Idle Connection Timeout
By default a connection remains within a pool in an idle state for five minutes before it is closed. To set the amount of time in milliseconds, set the property com.sun.jndi.ldap.connect.pool.timeout
in the cell.conf
or the relevant Execution Context <pico>.conf
, depending on where the workflow is executed.
ldapCreate
Creates a connection towards an LDAP server, using either anonymous or simple authentication. This function is usually invoked in the initialize
block.
any ldapCreate ( string host , int port , string name , string principal , //Optional string credentials ) //Optional
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
| The host name of the LDAP server |
| The port number of the LDAP server |
| Name which identifies the context in which the search will be performed. The value can span multiple naming systems and must be fully qualified and identify entries from the root of the LDAP server. If specified as |
| Optional argument that defines the user to connect as. If omitted, the function will connect to the LDAP server using anonymous authentication. This argument requires that the credentials argument is supplied. |
| Optional argument that defines the user password. |
Returns | An identifier used when invoking the search function. If |
Example - Using ldapCreate
any ctx = ldapCreate("10.0.0.1", 389, "o=users"); ... any ctx = ldapCreate("10.0.0.1", 389, "o=users", "cn=Administrator, o=users", "secret");
ldapAdd
The command is used to add an entry.
string ldapAdd ( any identifier , string name , list<string> attributes )
Parameters:
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
| The connection identifier returned from |
| The name of the entry to add. This is matched relative to the context specified with the |
| The new attribute value. If a delete operation is requested, the matching value is deleted. |
Returns | In the event of an error, a message from LDAP server will be returned otherwise null. |
ldapCloseCtx
The command is used to close a context that has previously been returned by ldapCreate
.
int ldapCloseCtx ( object context )
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
context | The context returned from ldapCreate . |
Returns | If the function is successful, it will return 0. |
ldapDelete
An APL command used to delete an entry.
string ldapDelete ( any identifier , string name )
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
| The connection identifier returned from |
| The name of the entry to be deleted. |
Returns | In the event of an error, a message from LDAP server will be returned otherwise null. |
ldapGetLastError
Retrieves the error message of the last error reported for an LDAP command.
string ldapGetLastError()
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
Returns | The last error message that an LDAP function registered. This information is kept per thread and agent so it is only guaranteed to be present in the same APL code block as the function call causing the error. |
ldapModify
An APL command used for modifying an entry by adding, replacing or deleting its attributes.
string ldapModify ( any identifier , string name , string operation , list<string> attributeValue ) //Optional
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
| The connection identifier returned from |
| The name of the entry to modify |
| The operation can be either |
| The list of new attribute values. If a |
Returns | In the event of an error, a message from LDAP server will be returned otherwise null. |
ldapSearch
Performs a search in a LDAP server based on a number of arguments.
list<ldapResult> ldapSearch ( any identifier , string name , string filter , //Optional list<string> retAttrs ) //Optional
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
| The connection identifier returned from |
| The name of the object to be searched for. This is matched relative to the context specified with the |
| Optional value, specifying the attributes of the requested LDAP objects. This value conforms to RFC 2254. The specified filter will match objects, relative to the |
| Optional list of strings that defines what attributes to be returned |
Returns | A list of If |
ldapScopeSearch
Performs a search in a specified part of the LDAP server based on a number of arguments.
list<ldapResult> ldapScopeSearch ( any identifier , string scope , string name , string filter , //Optional list<string> retAttrs ) //Optional
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
| The connection identifier returned from |
| The search scope, can be one of |
| The name of the object to be searched for. This is matched relative to the context specified with the |
| Optional value, specifying the attributes of the requested LDAP objects. This value conforms to RFC 2254. The specified filter will match objects, relative to the |
| Optional list of strings that defines what attributes to be returned |
Returns | A list of If |
ldapSetPooling
The command is used to enable/disable connection pooling. Pooling is enabled by default.
void ldapSetPooling ( boolean value )
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
value | The value should be set to either true or false . |
Returns | The function returns nothing. |
ldapSuppressErrors
An APL command used to change the error behavior of the other LDAP functions.
This function only changes the error behavior of the functions ldapCreate
, ldapSearch
, and ldapScopeSearch
. It does not suppress errors for configuration errors (such as the user using invalid input for the function calls).
void ldapSuppressErrors ( boolean value )
Parameter | Descriptionn |
---|---|
| Whether or not errors should be suppressed. |
Returns | Nothing |
Example
Example - LDAP APL Plugins
// Demonstration of LDAP APL plugin functions // The following code shows the following: // // 1) How to open a LDAP connection // 2) How to add/delete an object to/from LDAP // 3) How to change objects properties // 4) How to perform different type of searches void runDemoCode() { any ctx; string name = "DEMOUSER"; string distinguisedName = "cn="+name; string error; list<string> attributes; list<ldapResult> result; // ============================================== // Opens a connection to a LDAP Server // ============================================== ctx = ldapCreate("127.0.0.1", 389, "dc=nodomain", "cn=admin,dc=nodomain", "demo"); // ============================================== // Adding/Deleting/Modifying an LDAP Object // ============================================== // //Adds a new person object to the LDAP Server // attributes = listCreate(string); listAdd(attributes, "cn: "+name); listAdd(attributes, "objectClass: top"); listAdd(attributes, "objectClass: person"); listAdd(attributes, "sn: Test"); listAdd(attributes, "description: Test Record"); listAdd(attributes, "userPassword: {crypt}rkM1sTbxrERtE"); error = ldapAdd(ctx, distinguisedName, attributes); if( error != null ) { debug("Error creating user: "+error); } // //Changes description for the created person object // attributes = listCreate(string); listAdd(attributes, "description: A demo user"); error = ldapModify(ctx, distinguisedName, "REPLACE", attributes); if( error != null ) { debug("Error changing user description: "+error); } // //Removes user description from our person object // attributes = listCreate(string); listAdd(attributes, "description: A demo user"); error = ldapModify(ctx, distinguisedName, "REMOVE", attributes); if( error != null ) { debug("Error removing user description: "+error); } // //Adds user description to our person object // attributes = listCreate(string); listAdd(attributes, "description: a description line"); error = ldapModify(ctx, distinguisedName, "ADD", attributes); if( error != null ) { debug("Error adding user description: "+error); } // // Deletes our person object from the LDAP Server // error = ldapDelete(ctx, distinguisedName); if( error != null ) { debug("Error deleting user: "+error); } // ============================================== // Executing different searches against the LDAP // ============================================== // For demo purposes the LDAP tree should contain // two admin objects (a tree containing a backup // admin object). // Setup a filter for the search tests. // We are interested only in the attribute 'cn'. // list<string> attrFilter = listCreate(string); listAdd(attrFilter, "cn"); // //Executes a normal search, should return size=1 // result = ldapSearch(ctx, "dc=test", "cn=admin", attrFilter); debug("* Normal search"); debug("result size="+listSize(result)); printResultEntries(result); // //Scoped Search Types // //This search uses OBJECT scope, and should return size=1 // Explanation: // The search only searches for a specific object, and the // 'cn' attribute is returned for that object. // result = ldapScopeSearch(ctx, "OBJECT_SCOPE", "dc=test", "cn=admin", attrFilter); debug("* Object Scope"); debug("result size="+listSize(result)); printResultEntries(result); // //This search uses ONELEVEL scope, and should return size=1. // // Explanation: // The search executes a search on a unique level. Two objects // with the same name can not exists on the same level. // result = ldapScopeSearch(ctx, "ONELEVEL_SCOPE", "dc=test", "cn=admin", attrFilter); debug("* Onelevel Scope"); debug("result size="+listSize(result)); printResultEntries(result); // //This search uses SUBTREE scope, and should return size=2. // // Explanation: // The search execute a search on sublevels, and return a // match for every admin object found (and we had two). // result = ldapScopeSearch(ctx, "SUBTREE_SCOPE", "dc=test", "cn=admin", attrFilter); debug("* Subtree Scope"); debug("result size="+listSize(result)); printResultEntries(result); } // // Help method that prints out the result of a ldapSearch // void printResultEntries(list <ldapResult> result) { int resultIdx = 0; int resultCount = 0; int resultSize = listSize(result); while (resultCount < resultSize) { ldapResult entry = listGet(result, resultCount); debug("Name: " + entry.name); debug("Attribute: " + entry.attribute); int valueCount = 0; int valueSize = listSize(entry.values); while (valueCount < valueSize){ debug("Value: " + listGet(entry.values, valueCount)); valueCount = valueCount + 1; } resultCount = resultCount + 1; } }