Attributes; Attribute Syntax - Netscape DIRECTORY SERVER 6.2 - SCHEMA Reference

Schema Definition
The server's object class structure determines the list of required and allowed
attributes for a particular entry. For example, a person entry is usually defined
with the following object class structure:
objectClass: top
objectClass: person
objectClass: organizationalPerson
objectClass: inetOrgperson
In this structure, the inherits from the and
inetOrgperson organizationalPerson
person object classes. Therefore, when you assign the object class
inetOrgperson
to an entry, it automatically inherits the required and allowed attributes from the
superior object class.

Attributes

Directory data is represented as attribute-value pairs. Any piece of information in
the directory is associated with a descriptive attribute.
For instance, the , or , attribute is used to store a person's name. A
commonName cn
person named Jonas Salk can be represented in the directory as
cn: Jonas Salk
Each person entered in the directory can be defined by the collection of attributes
in the object class. Other attributes used to define this entry could
inetorgperson
include:
givenname: Jonas
surname: Salk
mail: jonass@example.com

Attribute Syntax

Each attribute has a syntax definition that describes the type of information
provided by the attribute.
Attribute syntax is used by the Directory Server to perform sorting and pattern
matching.
Table 1-1 lists the different syntax methods that can be applied to attributes, and
gives an OID and a definition for each syntax method.
Chapter 1 About Schema 17