Frequently Asked Questions

Attributes

When I asked for one attribute, I got back another. Why?

Is the attribute name that you are using a synonym for another attribute? If so, the LDAP server may return the canonical attribute name instead of the one you supplied. When you look in the result, you need to use the canonical name instead of the synonym.

For example, "fax" may be a synonym for the canonical attribute name "facsimiletelephonenumber". If you ask for "fax", the server would return the attribute with the name "facsimiletelephonenumber". See the Directory lesson for details on synonyms and other issues regarding attribute names.

How do I get back an attribute's value in a form other than a String or byte array?

Currently you cannot. The LDAP provider only returns attribute values either as java.lang.String or byte[]. See the Miscellaneous lesson.

How do I know what type an attribute's value is?

An attribute's value can be either java.lang.String or byte[]. See the Miscellaneous lesson for information on which attributes' values are returned as byte[]. To do this programmatically, you can use the instanceof operator to examine the attribute value you get back from the LDAP provider.

Frequently Asked Questions