The LDAP URL Format

This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for improvements. Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet Official Protocol Standards " (STD 1) for the standardization state and status of this protocol. Distribution of this memo is unlimited. LDAP is the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, defined in [1] and [2]. This document describes a format for an LDAP Uniform Resource Locator which will allow Internet clients to have direct access to the LDAP protocol. While LDAP currently is used only as a front end to the X.500 directory, the URL format described here is general enough to handle the case of stand-alone LDAP servers (i.e., LDAP servers not back-ended by X.500). 2. URL Definition An LDAP URL begins with the protocol prefix "ldap " and is defined by the following grammar. :: = "ldap:// " [ ] "/ " [ "? " [ "? " "? " ]] :: = [ ": " ] :: = a string as defined in RFC 1485