Class DN

java.lang.Object
netscape.ldap.util.DN
All Implemented Interfaces:
Serializable

public final class DN extends Object implements Serializable
Objects of this class represent distinguished names (DN). A distinguished name is used to identify an entry in a directory.

The netscape.ldap.LDAPDN class uses this class internally. In most cases, when working with DNs in the LDAP Java classes, you should use the netscape.ldap.LDAPDN class.

The following DNs are examples of the different formats for DNs that may appear:

  • uid=bjensen, ou=People, o=Airius.com (RFC 1485 format)
  • o=Airius.com/ou=People/uid=bjensen (OSF format)

Version:
1.0
See Also:
  • Field Summary

    Fields
    Modifier and Type
    Field
    Description
    static final char[]
    Array of the characters that may be escaped in a DN.
    static int
    Type specifying a DN in the OSF format.
    static int
    Type specifying a DN in the RFC format.
  • Constructor Summary

    Constructors
    Constructor
    Description
    DN()
    Constructs an empty DN object.
    DN(String dn)
    Constructs a DN object from the specified distinguished name.
  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    void
    addRDN(RDN rdn)
    Adds the specified relative distinguished name (RDN) to the current DN.
    void
    Adds the specified relative distinguished name (RDN) to the end of the current DN.
    void
    Adds the specified relative distinguished name (RDN) to the beginning of the current DN.
    boolean
    Deprecated.
    Please use isDescendantOf() instead.
    int
    Returns the number of components that make up the current DN.
    boolean
    equals(DN dn)
    Determines if the current DN is equal to the specified DN.
    explodeDN(boolean noTypes)
    Returns an array of the individual components that make up the current distinguished name.
    int
    Gets the type of format used for the DN (RFC format or OSF format).
    Gets the parent DN for this DN.
    Returns a list of the components (RDN objects) that make up the current DN.
    boolean
    Determines if this DN is a descendant of the given DN.
    static boolean
    Determines if the given string is an distinguished name or not.
    boolean
    Determines if the DN is in RFC 1485 format.
    void
    setDNType(int type)
    Sets the type of format used for the DN (RFC format or OSF format).
    Returns the DN in OSF format.
    Returns the DN in RFC 1485 format.
    Returns the string representation of the DN in its original format.

    Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object

    clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait
  • Field Details

    • RFC

      public static int RFC
      Type specifying a DN in the RFC format.

      See Also:
    • OSF

      public static int OSF
      Type specifying a DN in the OSF format.

      See Also:
    • ESCAPED_CHAR

      public static final char[] ESCAPED_CHAR
      Array of the characters that may be escaped in a DN.
  • Constructor Details

    • DN

      public DN()
      Constructs an empty DN object.
    • DN

      public DN(String dn)
      Constructs a DN object from the specified distinguished name. The string representation of the DN can be in RFC 1485 or OSF format.

      Parameters:
      dn - string representation of the distinguished name
  • Method Details

    • addRDNToFront

      public void addRDNToFront(RDN rdn)
      Adds the specified relative distinguished name (RDN) to the beginning of the current DN.

      Parameters:
      rdn - the relative distinguished name to add to the beginning of the current DN
      See Also:
    • addRDNToBack

      public void addRDNToBack(RDN rdn)
      Adds the specified relative distinguished name (RDN) to the end of the current DN.

      Parameters:
      rdn - the relative distinguished name to append to the current DN
      See Also:
    • addRDN

      public void addRDN(RDN rdn)
      Adds the specified relative distinguished name (RDN) to the current DN. If the DN is in RFC 1485 format, the RDN is added to the beginning of the DN. If the DN is in OSF format, the RDN is appended to the end of the DN.

      Parameters:
      rdn - the relative distinguished name to add to the current DN
      See Also:
    • setDNType

      public void setDNType(int type)
      Sets the type of format used for the DN (RFC format or OSF format).

      Parameters:
      type - one of the following constants: DN.RFC (to use the RFC format) or DN.OSF (to use the OSF format)
      See Also:
    • getDNType

      public int getDNType()
      Gets the type of format used for the DN (RFC format or OSF format).

      Returns:
      one of the following constants: DN.RFC (if the DN is in RFC format) or DN.OSF (if the DN is in OSF format).
      See Also:
    • countRDNs

      public int countRDNs()
      Returns the number of components that make up the current DN.
      Returns:
      the number of components in this DN.
    • getRDNs

      public Vector getRDNs()
      Returns a list of the components (RDN objects) that make up the current DN.
      Returns:
      a list of the components of this DN.
      See Also:
    • explodeDN

      public String[] explodeDN(boolean noTypes)
      Returns an array of the individual components that make up the current distinguished name.
      Parameters:
      noTypes - specify true to remove the attribute type and equals sign (for example, "cn=") from each component
    • isRFC

      public boolean isRFC()
      Determines if the DN is in RFC 1485 format.
      Returns:
      true if the DN is in RFC 1485 format.
    • toRFCString

      public String toRFCString()
      Returns the DN in RFC 1485 format.
      Returns:
      the DN in RFC 1485 format.
    • toOSFString

      public String toOSFString()
      Returns the DN in OSF format.
      Returns:
      the DN in OSF format.
    • toString

      public String toString()
      Returns the string representation of the DN in its original format. (For example, if the DN object was constructed from a DN in RFC 1485 format, this method returns the DN in RFC 1485 format.
      Overrides:
      toString in class Object
      Returns:
      the string representation of the DN.
    • isDN

      public static boolean isDN(String dn)
      Determines if the given string is an distinguished name or not.
      Parameters:
      dn - distinguished name
      Returns:
      true or false.
    • equals

      public boolean equals(DN dn)
      Determines if the current DN is equal to the specified DN.
      Parameters:
      dn - DN to compare against the current DN
      Returns:
      true if the two DNs are the same.
    • getParent

      public DN getParent()
      Gets the parent DN for this DN.

      For example, the following section of code gets the parent DN of "uid=bjensen, ou=People, o=Airius.com."

          DN dn = new DN("uid=bjensen, ou=People, o=Airius.com");
          DN parent = dn.getParent();
       
      The parent DN in this example is "ou=People, o=Airius.com".

      Returns:
      DN of the parent of this DN.
    • contains

      @Deprecated public boolean contains(DN dn)
      Deprecated.
      Please use isDescendantOf() instead.
      Determines if the given DN is under the subtree defined by this DN.

      For example, the following section of code determines if the DN specified by dn1 is under the subtree specified by dn2.

          DN dn1 = new DN("uid=bjensen, ou=People, o=Airius.com");
          DN dn2 = new DN("ou=People, o=Airius.com");
      
          boolean isContain = dn1.contains(dn2)
       
      In this case, since "uid=bjensen, ou=People, o=Airius.com" is an entry under the subtree "ou=People, o=Airius.com", the value of isContain is true.

      Parameters:
      dn - the DN of a subtree to check
      Returns:
      true if the current DN belongs to the subtree specified by dn.
    • isDescendantOf

      public boolean isDescendantOf(DN dn)
      Determines if this DN is a descendant of the given DN.

      For example, the following section of code determines if the DN specified by dn1 is a descendant of the DN specified by dn2.

          DN dn1 = new DN("uid=bjensen, ou=People, o=Airius.com");
          DN dn2 = new DN("ou=People, o=Airius.com");
      
          boolean isDescendant = dn1.isDescendantOf(dn2)
       
      In this case, since "uid=bjensen, ou=People, o=Airius.com" is an entry under the subtree "ou=People, o=Airius.com", the value of isDescendant is true.

      In the case where the given DN is equal to this DN it returns false.

      Parameters:
      dn - the DN of a subtree to check
      Returns:
      true if the current DN is a descendant of the DN specified by dn.