(Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) A protocol used to access a directory listing. LDAP support is implemented in Web browsers and e-mail programs, which can query an LDAP-compliant directory. LDAP is a sibling protocol to HTTP and FTP and uses the ldap:// prefix in its URL.
LDAP is a simplified version of the DAP protocol, which is used to gain access to X.500 directories. It is easier to code the query in LDAP than in DAP, but LDAP is less comprehensive. For example, DAP can initiate searches on other servers if an address is not found, while LDAP cannot in its initial specification. See DSML and ADSI.
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