Chapter 10 Writing Extended Operation Plug-Ins; How Extended Operation Plug-Ins Work - Netscape DIRECTORY SERVER 7.0 - PLUG-IN Manual

Writing Extended Operation Plug-ins
This chapter explains how to write plug-in functions to handle extended
operations. Extended operations are are defined in the LDAP v3 protocol.
The chapter contains the following sections:
• How Extended Operation Plug-ins Work (page 127)
• Writing Extended Operation Functions (page 128)
• Registering Extended Operation Functions (page 129)
• Specifying Start and Close Functions (page 131)

How Extended Operation Plug-ins Work

You can define your own operation that you want the Netscape Directory Server
(Directory Server) to perform. If you create a custom extended operation, you
assign an object identifier (OID) to identify that operation. LDAP clients request
the operation by sending an extended operation request. Within the request, the
client specifies:
• The OID of the extended operation.
• Data specific to the extended operation.
When the Directory Server receives the request, the server calls the plug-in
registered with the specified OID. The plug-in function has access to both the OID
and the data in the client's request. The plug-in function can send back to the client
a response containing an OID plus any additional data that might be needed.
In order to use extended operations, you need to configure both the Directory
Server and the client so they understand the specific extended operation that you
want performed.
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