Re: [ldap-sdk-discuss] LDAP SDK Java question

[Neil A. W. <nei...@un...>]

On 09/20/2016 08:45 AM, Kasim Doctor wrote:
> Hi Neil,
> 
> Thanks for your quick reply.
> 
> 
> 
> *I know that with the UnboundID Directory Server, we do guarantee that
> superior entries will be returned before any of their subordinates, with
> only a couple of exceptions (for example, searches including the
> server-side sort or persistent search request control)*
> Can you please point me to a spec/Javadoc for the above statement ?
> 
> Thanks,
> Kasim

There certainly isn't anything in the LDAP SDK javadoc that would make
that statement.  I'm not sure if that statement appears in the UnboundID
Directory Server documentation, but that isn't currently publicly available.

Nevertheless, I am the lead developer for the UnboundID Directory
Server, and I can assure you that we do guarantee that the UnboundID
Directory Server will return superior entries before subordinates unless
the search request includes something special that would alter the order
in which those entries are returned.




> 
> On Mon, Sep 19, 2016 at 4:46 PM, Neil A. Wilson <nei...@un...>
> wrote:
> 
>> On 09/19/2016 12:21 PM, Kasim Doctor wrote:
>>> Hi there,
>>>
>>> I am playing around with the LDAP Java SDK API to get a list of OUs from
>> a
>>> source directory.
>>>
>>> I searched everywhere but can't seem to find the answer to the following
>>> question:
>>>
>>> When I get the list of OUs, what guarantee is there that the parent OUs
>> are
>>> returned before the child OUs are returned ?
>>>
>>> Please let me know if there is a spec somewhere for this
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Kasim
>>
>>
>> There is no specification that requires a superior entry to be returned
>> in search results before its subordinates.  In fact, RFC 4511 section
>> 4.5.2 states "The SearchResultEntry and SearchResultReference messages
>> may come in any order.", so it would be legal for subordinate entries to
>> be returned before their superiors.
>>
>> However, I expect that most LDAP servers do try to return superior
>> entries before subordinates.  I know that with the UnboundID Directory
>> Server, we do guarantee that superior entries will be returned before
>> any of their subordinates, with only a couple of exceptions (for
>> example, searches including the server-side sort or persistent search
>> request control). I can't speak definitively for other directory
>> servers, but I expect that most servers do try to maintain this ordering
>> under normal circumstances.
>>
>> If you're really paranoid about this, and if you expect that your search
>> won't return a large number of entries, you can have the LDAP SDK sort
>> the results for you, and you can specify that the sorting should order
>> each entry first based on its position in the hierarchy and then based
>> on its content.  See the EntrySorter
>> (https://docs.ldap.com/ldap-sdk/docs/javadoc/index.html?
>> com/unboundid/ldap/sdk/EntrySorter.html)
>> class for more information.  However, client-side sorting can only be
>> done if you can hold all of the entries in memory, so you shouldn't do
>> this if you think there might be a large number of matching entries.
>>
>>
>> Neil
>>
>>
>>
>