DESIGN DESCRIPTION

Mentata LDAPHttp Framework

5. Reuse

This section will identify software that is reused by this design as well as describe how components of this design are potentially reusable.

Reused software

LDAPHttp leaves all direct communication with directory servers to the JLDAP libraries and uses JLDAP utility classes for LDIF and DSML output. Due to the momentum behind the related industry standards, many organizations have or will deploy web servers, directory servers, and Java software on their networks and so will be experienced in the use, configuration, and administration of these products. The LDAPHttp Framework is meant to leverage these investments along with associated expertise, content, and data.

Reusability of design

The LDAPHttp framework is designed for reuse and extensibility. New servlets and their associated interfaces can be added to make use of shared resources and object definitions to perform new actions. Separate contexts can provide different views to the same data, and object or attribute definitions can be shared and augmented in multiple contexts. Objects can be configured to have custom behaviors without rewriting the basic functional code, and new attribute types with syntax specific default functionality can similarly be customized.

By separating the core functionality into the L3D package, the framework can even be extended beyond servlets or the web for use in administrative clients, agents, or applets. The design is modular, isolating business logic to local packages and presentation details to JSP content. If an enterprise using LDAPHttp were later to invest in a full-blown J2EE infrastructure, it could easily convert the object characterizations to Enterprise Bean components and reuse JSP. Other modern infrastructures could also still leverage this breakdown.