XML Enabled Directory
Encyclopedia
XML Enabled Directory is a framework for managing objects represented using the Extensible Markup Language
(XML). XED builds on X.500
and LDAP
directory service
s technologies.
XED was originally designed in 2003 by Steven Legg of eNitiatives (formerly of eB2Bcom and Adacel Technologies) and Daniel Prager (formerly of Deakin University
).
The XML Enabled Directory (XED) framework leverages existing Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and X.500 directory technology to create a directory service that stores, manages and transmits Extensible Markup Language (XML) format data, while maintaining interoperability with LDAP clients, X.500 Directory User Agents (DUAs), and X.500 Directory System Agents (DSAs).
The main features of XED are:
The XML Enabled Directory allows directory entries to contain XML formatted data as attribute values. Furthermore, the attribute syntax can be specified in any one of a variety of XML schema languages that the directory understands.
The directory server is then able to perform data validation and semantically meaningful matching of XML documents, or their parts, on behalf of client applications, making the implementation of XML-based applications easier and faster.
XML applications can also exploit the directory's traditional capabilities of cross-application data sharing, data distribution, data replication, user authentication and user access control, further lowering the cost of building new XML applications
XED Implementations
eNitiatives's ViewDS Discovery Server provides organisations with a fast, scalable and flexible directory system. As it has been developed strictly adhering to open standards and it features support for the X.500, LDAP, XED and ACP133 Standards. Being standards compliant, ViewDS will interface with a variety of applications, both now and into the future.
Extensible Markup Language
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
(XML). XED builds on X.500
X.500
X.500 is a series of computer networking standards covering electronic directory services. The X.500 series was developed by ITU-T, formerly known as CCITT, and first approved in 1988. The directory services were developed in order to support the requirements of X.400 electronic mail exchange and...
and LDAP
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is an application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol network...
directory service
Directory service
A directory service is the software system that stores, organizes and provides access to information in a directory. In software engineering, a directory is a map between names and values. It allows the lookup of values given a name, similar to a dictionary...
s technologies.
XED was originally designed in 2003 by Steven Legg of eNitiatives (formerly of eB2Bcom and Adacel Technologies) and Daniel Prager (formerly of Deakin University
Deakin University
Deakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
).
The XML Enabled Directory (XED) framework leverages existing Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) and X.500 directory technology to create a directory service that stores, manages and transmits Extensible Markup Language (XML) format data, while maintaining interoperability with LDAP clients, X.500 Directory User Agents (DUAs), and X.500 Directory System Agents (DSAs).
The main features of XED are:
- semantically equivalent XML renditions of existing directory protocols,
- XML renditions of directory data,
- the ability to accept at run time, user defined attribute syntaxes specified in a variety of XML schema languages,
- the ability to perform filter matching on the parts of XML format attribute values.
- the flexibility for implementors to develop XED clients using only their favoured XML schema language.
The XML Enabled Directory allows directory entries to contain XML formatted data as attribute values. Furthermore, the attribute syntax can be specified in any one of a variety of XML schema languages that the directory understands.
The directory server is then able to perform data validation and semantically meaningful matching of XML documents, or their parts, on behalf of client applications, making the implementation of XML-based applications easier and faster.
XML applications can also exploit the directory's traditional capabilities of cross-application data sharing, data distribution, data replication, user authentication and user access control, further lowering the cost of building new XML applications
XED Implementations
eNitiatives's ViewDS Discovery Server provides organisations with a fast, scalable and flexible directory system. As it has been developed strictly adhering to open standards and it features support for the X.500, LDAP, XED and ACP133 Standards. Being standards compliant, ViewDS will interface with a variety of applications, both now and into the future.