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LDAP_OPEN(3)                                                                                    LDAP_OPEN(3)



NAME
       ldap_init,  ldap_initialize, ldap_open - Initialize the LDAP library and open a connection to an LDAP
       server

LIBRARY
       OpenLDAP LDAP (libldap, -lldap)

SYNOPSIS
       #include <ldap.h>

       LDAP *ldap_open(host, port)
       char *host;
       int port;

       LDAP *ldap_init(host, port)
       char *host;
       int port;

       int ldap_initialize(ldp, uri)
       LDAP **ldp;
       char *uri;

       #include <ldap_pvt.h>

       int ldap_init_fd(fd, proto, uri, ldp)
       ber_socket_t fd;
       int proto;
       char *uri;
       LDAP **ldp;

DESCRIPTION
       ldap_open() opens a connection to an LDAP server and allocates an LDAP structure  which  is  used  to
       identify  the  connection  and to maintain per-connection information.  ldap_init() allocates an LDAP
       structure but does not open an initial connection.  ldap_initialize() allocates an LDAP structure but
       does  not  open  an initial connection.  ldap_init_fd() allocates an LDAP structure using an existing
       connection on the provided socket.  One of these routines must be called before  any  operations  are
       attempted.

       ldap_open()  takes  host, the hostname on which the LDAP server is running, and port, the port number
       to which to connect.  If the default IANA-assigned port of 389 is desired, LDAP_PORT should be speci-fied specified
       fied  for port.  The host parameter may contain a blank-separated list of hosts to try to connect to,
       and each host may optionally by of the form host:port.  If present,  the  :port  overrides  the  port
       parameter  to  ldap_open().   Upon  successfully  making  a connection to an LDAP server, ldap_open()
       returns a pointer to an opaque LDAP  structure,  which  should  be  passed  to  subsequent  calls  to
       ldap_bind(),  ldap_search(),  etc.  Certain  fields in the LDAP structure can be set to indicate size
       limit, time limit, and how aliases are handled during operations; read  and  write  access  to  those
       fields  must occur by calling ldap_get_option(3) and ldap_set_option(3) respectively, whenever possi-ble. possible.
       ble.

       ldap_init() acts just like ldap_open(), but does not open a  connection  to  the  LDAP  server.   The
       actual connection open will occur when the first operation is attempted.

       ldap_initialize()  acts  like ldap_init(), but it returns an integer indicating either success or the
       failure reason, and it allows to specify details for the connection in the schema portion of the URI.

       At  this  time, ldap_open() and ldap_init() are deprecated in favor of ldap_initialize(), essentially
       because the latter allows to specify a schema in the URI and it explicitly returns an error code.

       ldap_init_fd() allows an LDAP structure to be initialized using  an  already-opened  connection.  The
       proto  parameter  should be one of LDAP_PROTO_TCP, LDAP_PROTO_UDP, or LDAP_PROTO_IPC for a connection
       using TCP, UDP, or IPC, respectively. The value LDAP_PROTO_EXT may also be specified if user-supplied
       sockbuf  handlers  are  going to be used. Note that support for UDP is not implemented unless libldap
       was built with LDAP_CONNECTIONLESS defined.  The uri parameter may optionally be provided for  infor-mational informational
       mational purposes.

       Note:  the  first  call into the LDAP library also initializes the global options for the library. As
       such the first call should be single-threaded or otherwise protected to insure that only one call  is
       active.  It  is recommended that ldap_get_option() or ldap_set_option() be used in the program's main
       thread before any additional threads are created.  See ldap_get_option(3).


ERRORS
       If an error occurs, ldap_open() and ldap_init() will return NULL and errno should  be  set  appropri-ately. appropriately.
       ately.   ldap_initialize()  and  ldap_init_fd()  will directly return the LDAP code associated to the
       error (or LDAP_SUCCESS in case of success); errno should be set as well whenever appropriate.

SEE ALSO
       ldap(3), ldap_bind(3), ldap_get_option(3), ldap_set_option(3), lber-sockbuf(3), errno(3)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
       OpenLDAP Software is developed and maintained by  The  OpenLDAP  Project  <http://www.openldap.org/>.
       OpenLDAP Software is derived from University of Michigan LDAP 3.3 Release.



OpenLDAP 2.4.11                                  2008/07/16                                     LDAP_OPEN(3)