Network Working Group M. Wahl
Request for Comments: 2927 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Category: Informational September 2000
MIME Directory Profile for LDAP Schema
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2000). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
This document defines a multipurpose internet mail extensions (MIME)
directory profile for holding a lightweight directory access protocol
(LDAP) schema. It is intended for communication with the Internet
schema listing service.
The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
"SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 [4].
1. Overview
This document defines how a MIME type may be used to transfer a
single LDAPv3 schema definition.
A schema for use with LDAPv3 consists of any number of object class,
attribute type, matching rule and syntax definitions. These concepts
are defined in the LDAPv3 protocol definition [2]. The schema MAY
have a numeric OID assigned to it by a schema listing or registration
service.
A schema may import definitions from another schema. Schema imports
are not, however, transitive.
For example, a schema contains a definition for a "modem" object
class, which is to be defined as a subclass of the X.521 "device"
object class. In this case, the schema MUST import the definitions
of X.521.
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2. The "schema-ldap-0" MIME Directory Profile Registration
This profile is identified by the following registration template
information.
To:
[email protected]
Subject: Registration of text/directory MIME profile "schema-ldap-0"
Profile name: schema-ldap-0
Profile purpose: To represent a schema defined for use with LDAPv3
servers.
Profile types: SOURCE, ldapSchemas, attributeTypes, matchingRules,
objectClasses, matchingRuleUse, ldapSyntaxes
Profile special notes:
The charset parameter MUST be present on the MIME content, and the
value of this parameter MUST be "utf-8". This ensures that schema
values can be used in LDAPv3 attribute values without a character set
translation.
Neither the "BEGIN" and "END" types nor type grouping are used in
contents of this profile.
All of the types in this profile with the exception of ldapSchemas
may be multi-valued. Each value is present on its own contentline.
Values may be present in any order, and need not be arranged by type.
The "SOURCE" type is optional, and if values are present they SHOULD
be URIs of the "ldap" form. If the URI is of the "ldap" form, the
object indicated by the URI is a subschema entry. The use of other
forms are reserved for future applications.
In this version of the profile, exactly one value of the ldapSchemas
type MUST be present. (Later versions of the profile may permit
multiple ldapSchemas values to be present in a content.)
Implementors should note that there will likely be values of the
profile types in most contents much longer than 76 bytes. In
addition, there may be non-ASCII characters and embedded CRLFs inside
of values, which could require either quoting of the value or use of
a content transfer encoding.
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If a contentline in a particular content contains a "context"
parameter and the value of that parameter is not "ldap", then that
contentline SHOULD be ignored.
Intended usage: COMMON
3. MIME Directory Type Registrations
This document defines all the types, with the exception of "SOURCE"
used in the schema-ldap-0 profile. The "SOURCE" type is defined in
[1]. These types are primarily intended for use in the "schema-
ldap-0" directory profile, although they may be applicable to other
profiles defined in the future.
3.1. ldapSchemas
To:
[email protected]
Subject: Registration of text/directory MIME type ldapSchemas
Type name: ldapSchemas
Type purpose: To represent the LDAPv3 attribute "ldapSchemas",
defined in section A.1.
Type encoding: 8bit
Type valuetype: text, encoded according to the BNF of section A.2.
Type special notes: Each value of this type specifies the contents of
an LDAP schema definition. A definition of each object class,
attribute, matching rule, matching rule use and syntax referenced in
a value of ldapSchemas MUST either be defined in one of the schemas
referenced in the "IMPORTS" field, or present in the content
containing this value.
Intended usage: COMMON
3.2. attributeTypes
To:
[email protected]
Subject: Registration of text/directory MIME type attributeTypes
Type name: attributeTypes
Type purpose: To represent the LDAPv3 attribute "attributeTypes",
defined in section 5.1.6 of [4].
Type encoding: 8bit
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Type valuetype: text, encoded according to the BNF of
"AttributeTypeDescription" given in section 4.2 of [4].
Type special notes: Each value of the type specifies one LDAPv3
attribute type definition. The syntax and matching rules referenced
in a value of attributeTypes MUST either be present in this content,
or defined in one of the schemas referenced in the "IMPORTS" field of
the ldapSchemas line.
Intended usage: COMMON
3.3. matchingRules
To:
[email protected]
Subject: Registration of text/directory MIME type matchingRules
Type name: matchingRules
Type purpose: To represent the LDAPv3 attribute "matchingRules",
defined in section 5.1.8 of [4].
Type encoding: 8bit
Type valuetype: text, encoded according to the BNF of
"MatchingRuleDescription" given in section 4.5 of [4].
Type special notes: Each value of the type specifies one matching
rule definition. The syntax reference in a value of matchingRules
MUST either be present in this content, or defined in one of the
schemas referenced in the "IMPORTS" field of the ldapSchemas line.
Intended usage: COMMON
3.4. objectClasses
To:
[email protected]
Subject: Registration of text/directory MIME type objectClasses
Type name: objectClasses
Type purpose: To represent the LDAPv3 attribute "objectClasses",
defined in section 5.1.7 of [4].
Type encoding: 8bit
Type valuetype: text, encoded according to the BNF of
"ObjectClassDescription" given in section 4.4 of [4].
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Type special notes: Each value of the type specifies one LDAPv3
object class definition. The attributes and object classes
referenced in a value of objectClasses MUST either be present in this
content, or defined in one of the schema referenced in the "IMPORTS"
field of the ldapSchemas line.
Intended usage: COMMON
3.5. matchingRuleUse
To:
[email protected]
Subject: Registration of text/directory MIME type matchingRuleUse
Type name: matchingRuleUse
Type purpose: To represent the LDAPv3 attribute "matchingRuleUse",
defined in section 5.1.9 of [4].
Type encoding: 8bit
Type valuetype: text, encoded according to the BNF of
"MatchingRuleUseDescription" given in section 4.5 of [4].
Type special notes: Each value of the type specifies a relationship
between a matching rule and attribute types. The matching rule and
attribute types referenced in a value of matchingRuleUse MUST either
be present in this content, or defined in one of the schemas
referenced in the "IMPORTS" statement of the ldapSchemas line.
Intended usage: COMMON
3.6. ldapSyntaxes
To:
[email protected]
Subject: Registration of text/directory MIME type ldapSyntaxes
Type name: ldapSyntaxes
Type purpose: To represent the LDAPv3 attribute "ldapSyntaxes",
defined in section 5.3.1 of [3].
Type encoding: 8bit
Type valuetype: text, encoded according to the BNF of
"SyntaxDescription" given in section 4.3.3 of [3].
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Type special notes: Each value of this type specifies a single LDAPv3
attribute value syntax.
Intended usage: COMMON
3. Example
From:
[email protected]
To:
[email protected]
Subject: schema information
MIME-Version: 1.0
Message-Id: <
[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/directory; profile="schema-ldap-0";charset="utf-8"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: Quoted-Printable
ldapSchemas: ( 1.2.3.4 NAME 'bogus schema' CLASSES ( top $ thing ) =
ATTRIBUTES ( objectClass $ name ) SYNTAXES ( =
1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.38 $ 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 ) )
attributeTypes: ( 2.5.4.0 NAME 'objectClass' SYNTAX =
1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.38 )
objectClasses: ( 2.5.6.0 NAME 'top' ABSTRACT MUST objectClass )
attributeTypes: ( 2.5.4.41 NAME 'name' SYNTAX =
1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15{32768} )
objectClasses: ( 2.5.6.999 NAME 'thing' MUST name )
ldapSyntaxes: ( 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15 DESC 'String' )
ldapSyntaxes: ( 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.38 DESC 'OID' )
4. Security Considerations
A MIME body part containing an text/directory of the schema-ldap-0
profile may be incorporated in a digitally signed MIME content, which
can be used to verify that the body part has not been modified in
transit. When the signer has been certified by a trusted third party
service, it may also be possible to verify the origin of the content.
5. Bibliography
[1] Howes, T., Smith, M. and F. Dawson, "A MIME Content-Type for
Directory Information", RFC 2425, September 1998.
[2] Wahl, M., Howes, T. and S. Kille, "Lightweight Directory Access
Protocol (v3)", RFC 2251, December 1997.
[3] Wahl, M., Coulbeck, A., Howes, T. and S. Kille, "Lightweight
Directory Access Protocol (v3): Attribute Syntax Definitions",
RFC 2252, December 1997.
[4] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement
Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, March 1997.
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6. Author's Address
Mark Wahl
Sun Microsystems, Inc.
8911 Capital of Texas Hwy Suite 4140
Austin, TX 78759
USA
EMail:
[email protected]
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Appendix A
This appendix defines two new attributes which could be present in an
subschema entry. These attributes could be added to a future
revision of the LDAP attribute definition [3].
A.1. ldapSchemas attribute type definition
( 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.101.120.17 NAME 'ldapSchemas'
SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.56 USAGE directoryOperation )
Each value of the ldapSchemas attribute defines one schema. Its
syntax, given in section A.2, contains the elements needed for an
LDAPv3 server to correctly process operations which use the
definitions from this syntax.
A.2. LDAP Schema Definition syntax definition
( 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.56 DESC 'LDAP Schema Definition' )
Values in this syntax are represented according to the following BNF:
LdapSchema = "(" whsp
numericoid whsp
[ "NAME" qdescrs ]
[ "OBSOLETE" whsp ]
[ "IMPORTS" oids ]
[ "CLASSES" oids ]
[ "ATTRIBUTES" oids ]
[ "MATCHING-RULES" oids ]
[ "SYNTAXES" oids ]
whsp ")"
The numericoid field uniquely identifies the schema. A new OID
should be assigned if any of the fields of the schema change. It is
not possible to import definitions from a schema until an OID has
been assigned to it.
The "NAME" field contains optional human-readable labels for the
schema.
The "OBSOLETE" field is present if the schema is obsolete.
The "IMPORTS" field lists the OIDs of other schemas which are to be
incorporated by reference into this schema. It is an error to have
an attribute type or object class defined in a schema with the same
name but a different OID as an attribute type or object class in an
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imported schema. It is also an error to import from two schema
definitions in which there are attribute types or object classes with
the same names but different OIDs.
The "CLASSES" field lists the OIDs of object classes defined in this
schema. A schema need not contain any object class definitions. A
schema must not contain two object class definitions of the same name
but with different OIDs.
The "ATTRIBUTES" field lists the OIDs of attribute types defined in
this schema. A schema need not contain any object class definitions.
A schema must not contain two attribute type definitions of the same
name but with different OIDs.
The "MATCHING-RULES" field lists the OIDs of matching rules defined
in this schema. A schema need not contain any matching rules.
The "SYNTAXES" field lists the OIDs of syntaxes defined in this
schema. A schema need not contain any syntaxes.
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Full Copyright Statement
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Acknowledgement
Funding for the RFC Editor function is currently provided by the
Internet Society.
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