Subject: RE: Border directories

From: [email-masked] (Peter Gutmann)
Date: Fri, 12 May 2000 06:32:36 (NZST)

"Walter Williams" <[email-masked]> writes:

>Last I checked, as the information is stored in a directory to begin with,

Last I checked all the LDAP directories I could find used either
Berkeley DB or an RDBMS to store information.  With LDAP you have:

 client -> LDAP (client) -> LDAP (server) -> RDBMS

What I was suggesting is:

 client -> HTTP GET -> RDBMS

cutting out the superfluous LDAP bloat in the middle.

Peter.

---

From: "Walter Williams" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 11 May 2000 14:37:50 -0400

Unfortunately for your model, there are a variety of directory vendors which
do not store in either Berkeley DB or in a RDBMS datastore.  Microsoft is
one.  Novell another, Lotus a third.  There are others.  LDAP is certainly
less overhead than MAPI or what ever Novell's and Lotus's equivilent API
would be.  And LDAP is already built into the client to do exactly what you
are asking some one to write code to do.  Yes it can be done.  Yes it will
be done.  But most are doing this through LDAP for very good reasons.  Keep
in mind that many email clients do not do HTTP, so then you would have a
flow path of: to create s/mime email, don't create a new email in client,
open browser, browse to proper link, run query, have email aware http
application you have to now write create your email.  This application
should idealy call your default email package, but how will it tell Outlook
as an example about the certificate it just found?  I can't see that as a
natural flow of work.  Yes, if you are using an web based email service such
as hotmail.  No if you are using a corporate solution.

Walt

> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email-masked] [mailto:[email-masked]]
> Sent: Friday, May 12, 2000 6:33 AM
> To: [email-masked]; [email-masked]; [email-masked];
> [email-masked]
> Subject: RE: Border directories
>
>