[Ldap-users-devel] Re: Ideas for new directions

[Wil C. <wc...@na...>]

Also Sprach Fernando Lozano:

> I never though this way, but if you can come with a nice design I guess=
=20
> you should talk to Jamie Cameron about getting your design into the=20
> standard Users and Groups module.
>=20
> When I created my module the focus was not on just managing Posix users=
=20
> on another name service -- it was about unifying Posix user management=20
> with e-mail address book management. So I though about preserving Posix=
=20
> semantics while supporting atributes that are unknown to Posix.

Right.  And I'm trying to think broader than that--perhaps on the
scale of something like NDS; basically, anything that can use
LDAP for configuration I'd like to try to manage.  And perhaps
managing different back-ends makes that out of the question;
I'm going to code for LDAP and try to clearly separate out and
LDAP-specific interface from a more generic interface, and make
the CGIs themselves use only the generic interfaces.  (Actually,
you've pretty much done that already.)

> Think about how your design will accomodate the differences. For=20
> example, I cannot tell LDAP "there can be no two records with the same=20
> value for the uidnumber atribute" but I can tell this to MySQL. So the=20
> first has to be programmed on the webmin module but the second does not.=
=20
> Think also about how you'll display and edit non-Posix information. For=
=20
> example, I think an nss_mysql module should be integrated with managing=
=20
> mysql grant tables.
>=20
> My plans for the future (not near future) include design something that=
=20
> allows easy plugability of new object classes (for example, samba ldap=20
> attributes, or raduis atributes)
>=20
> As far as I know, the NSS interface provides no way for changing=20
> information -- just querying. Is that true?

Right.  I'm thinking about communicating directly with the backend
modules that feed NSS--LDAP, db files, MySQL, etc., not through
NSS directly.

Wil
--=20
W. Reilly Cooley                           wc...@na...
Naked Ape Consulting                        http://nakedape.cc
irc.linux.com                             #orlug,#pdxlug,#lnxs

"There was a vague, unpleasant manginess about his appearence; he somehow
seemed dirty, though a close glance showed him as carefully shaven as an
actor, and clad in immaculate linen."
-- H.L. Mencken, on the death of William Jennings Bryan