Definition: Schema
The schema of a Directory Server defines a set of rules that govern the kinds of information that the server can hold. Directory schema is comprised of a number of different elements, including:
- Attribute Syntaxes – Provide information about the kind of information that can be stored in an attribute.
- Matching Rules – Provide information about how to make comparisons against attribute values.
- Matching Rule Uses – Indicate which attribute types may be used in conjunction with a particular matching rule.
- Attribute Types – Define an OID and a set of names that may be used to refer to a given attribute, and associates that attribute with a syntax and set of matching rules.
- Object Classes – Define named collections of attributes and classify them into sets of required and optional attributes.
- Name Forms – Define rules for the set of attributes that should be included in the RDN for an entry.
- DIT Content Rules – Define additional constraints about the object classes and attributes that may be used in conjunction with an entry.
- DIT Structure Rule – Define rules that govern the kinds of subordinate entries that a given entry may have.
- Attributes are the elements responsible for storing information in a directory, and the schema defines the rules for which attributes may be used in an entry, the kinds of values that those attributes may have, and how clients may interact with those values.
Clients may learn about the schema elements that the server supports by retrieving an appropriate subschema subentry.
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