An LDAP directory is usually a hierarchical structure, though this is not a requirement. LDAP supports a flat, or one-level, structure as readily as multiple levels. The illustration below shows a simplified tree of entries from the root level to the individual level.
The complexity and flexibility allowed in this structure is a key to LDAP's success. A directory's structure abstracts the structure of the organization it represents. Properly devising and maintaining this structure is the LDAP server administrator's responsibility. The type, quantity, and accessibility of the information for individual entries will obviously vary widely across organizations and their LDAP servers.
A ColdFusion application developed for an organization's intranet could easily include LDAP query and output capability from its internal LDAP server and from allied servers. Changes in the directory structure would, presumably, be updated in the application code. Venturing into the wider world of the Internet needs special attention, though. Communication with data source administrators is as important in LDAP implementations as it is in other data-driven applications.
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