Using the Domino® Directory to extend the LDAP schema

To add schema elements to the Domino® LDAP schema, you can create forms and subforms in the Domino® Directory, or you can use the Domino® LDAP Schema database (SCHEMA.NSF).

Using the Schema database is the preferred method for extending the schema. Use the Domino® Directory to extend the schema only if Notes® or Web users require access to the entries created from the new schema elements through documents in the directory. If only LDAP access to entries defined by the new schema elements is required, instead use the Domino® LDAP Schema database to extend the schema.

Note: You must use the Domino® Designer client when using the Domino® Directory to extend the schema.

You can use the Domino® Directory to:

  • Create a new LDAP structural object class
  • Configure a new LDAP structural object class to inherit
  • Create a new LDAP auxiliary object class
  • Define LDAP attributes for a new object class

To add attributes to an object class defined in the default schema, do not add the attributes to the object class directly. Instead, do one of the following:

  • Create an auxiliary object class to define the new attributes, and then add the auxiliary object class to the default object class
  • Create a new structural object class with the new attributes, and then configure the new object class to inherit from the default object class

Using the Domino® Directory to enable LDAP-standard entries to be visible as documents

The LDAP-standard schema elements defined in the default LDAP schema through the LSCHEMA.LDIF file do not correlate to forms and fields in the Domino® Directory. For example, the object class residentialPerson does not correlate to a form in the Domino® Directory. By default, you can use only LDAP operations to create and access directory entries defined by these LDAP-standard schema elements.

If you want to display LDAP-standard entries such as these in documents that are visible to Notes® and Web users, you can follow the same steps that describe how to use the Domino® Directory to extend the schema. For example, to create a form to hold values for entries defined by the residentialPerson object class, follow the steps described in the procedure Using the Domino® Directory to create a new LDAP structural object class in the related links. In this case you are not using the form to define an object class -- the object class is already defined in the LSCHEMA.LDIF file. Instead you're using the form so that entries defined by the object class are visible in documents. If you do this, make sure to define the schema elements exactly as the Domino® LDAP Schema database (SCHEMA.NSF) shows them to be defined. Defining them differently can cause you to define new schema elements, rather than simply allowing the default schema elements to be visible in documents.