perl-ldap-dev

namespace, an LDAP shell, and coding practices

[Luke A. K. <lu...@ma...>]

Hi all,

I'm currently working on an LDAP CLI shell, just something which will
basically let me walk an ldap tree using 'cd' and 'ls', and couple other
basic commands, although also hopefully with the ability to edit single
entries.

I've actually already got the basic functionality done--I can connect to
the database, cd around, do listings on branch nodes, that kind of thing.

I have a couple of questions as to etiquette, though:  It doesn't really
seem to make sense to put this under Net::LDAP, even though it obviously
relies quite heavily on Net::LDAP.  I notice that there are no packages
under just plain "LDAP", so I was thinking of using that namespace.

If I had an LDAP.pm package at all, it would merely be a few simple,
useful routines; most of the real work would be done in subpackages.
At this point, I have: 
   LDAP
A couple of useful routines, but I don't really need this.
   LDAP::Shell
The package for the interactive shell itself.
   LDAP::CLI
For the CLI auth routines (it caches the username, so you don't have to
keep entering it, like you do with ldapsearch and the like).
   LDAP::Connect
Some routines making host connections easier.  Specifically there is a
routine for connecting to the first live host from a list.
   LDAP::Config
A place to store a list of ldap servers and their basic
configurations. Information I am storing so far is: server list, dn
(usually null and overridden), password (usually null and overridden),
description, objectclass to search for by default (usually inetOrgPerson
or posixAccount), attributes required to create one of those
objectclasses, and attributes to return by default from that objectlass.
This is used heavily by the other packages, so you can just type something
like "ldapsh" and be connected to the default server as your default user,
with default ssl/nossl settings.
   LDAP::Desc
A simple package for storing descriptions of LDAP attributes.  This is
useful for prompting people for information, either on the CLI or on a web
page; instead of prompting for 'uid', you can prompt for 'Login ID' or
whatever.

So my main question is, does anyone have a problem with me using this
namespace, or is there already a better namespace to put this under?  I
can't seem to find an appropriate one, but that doesn't mean it's not
there.

And if someone has already done any or all of this, I would love to hear
about it.  I'm not planning on devoting a ton of time to this, but it's
something I've wanted for a long time, and I've got enough of a foundation
of routines that it's not taking me much extra work (I already had
everything except the LDAP::Shell package done, but that's the package I
think people would be the most interested in).

Lastly, I have a few coding questions:

I am planning on autoloading each command from something like
LDAP::Shell::Commands, so that I don't take the hit of compiling
everything at once.  This also makes it easy for anyone to add new
commands to the shell.  I'm also planning on providing the ability to set
some kind of search path, so that the package will search other
directories for commands to load.  Does that sound like an extensible,
sensible solution, or does someone else have some amazingly obvious or
great solution for me?

Also, because I want the commands available in this shell to resemble Unix
commands, I am using Getopt::Long to parse their options.  It appears that
Getopt::Long will only look at @ARGV, so I am setting @ARGV = @_ before I
call the routines.  Is that retarded, and is there a better way to do it?

I'm mainly writing this for myself, because I'm tired of dealing with GUI
apps, and it just isn't that hard, but I figure if I do it, I might as
well make it available.  The reason I want to make it available with this
many packages is that it relies on a number of packages I've written over
the years, and they've finally gotten to the point where I really can't do
much without them.

Anyway, I'd love to hear feedback.  And BTW Graham, thanks ever so much
for Net::LDAP!

Luke Kanies

-- 
The Number 1 Sign You Have Nothing to Do at Work...
   The 4th Division of Paperclips has overrun the Pushpin Infantry
   and General White-Out has called for a new skirmish.

Re: namespace, an LDAP shell, and coding practices

[Graham B. <gb...@po...>]

You are really asking the wrong list for namespace issues. You should
contact mo...@pe.... But adding new top-level is normally
frowed upon.

I would suggest you use Net::LDAP::Shell as a top level and place all
your other code in Net::LDAP::Shell::*

Graham.

On Sat, Jun 29, 2002 at 12:34:30PM -0500, Luke A. Kanies wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> I'm currently working on an LDAP CLI shell, just something which will
> basically let me walk an ldap tree using 'cd' and 'ls', and couple other
> basic commands, although also hopefully with the ability to edit single
> entries.
> 
> I've actually already got the basic functionality done--I can connect to
> the database, cd around, do listings on branch nodes, that kind of thing.
> 
> I have a couple of questions as to etiquette, though:  It doesn't really
> seem to make sense to put this under Net::LDAP, even though it obviously
> relies quite heavily on Net::LDAP.  I notice that there are no packages
> under just plain "LDAP", so I was thinking of using that namespace.
> 
> If I had an LDAP.pm package at all, it would merely be a few simple,
> useful routines; most of the real work would be done in subpackages.
> At this point, I have: 
>    LDAP
> A couple of useful routines, but I don't really need this.
>    LDAP::Shell
> The package for the interactive shell itself.
>    LDAP::CLI
> For the CLI auth routines (it caches the username, so you don't have to
> keep entering it, like you do with ldapsearch and the like).
>    LDAP::Connect
> Some routines making host connections easier.  Specifically there is a
> routine for connecting to the first live host from a list.
>    LDAP::Config
> A place to store a list of ldap servers and their basic
> configurations. Information I am storing so far is: server list, dn
> (usually null and overridden), password (usually null and overridden),
> description, objectclass to search for by default (usually inetOrgPerson
> or posixAccount), attributes required to create one of those
> objectclasses, and attributes to return by default from that objectlass.
> This is used heavily by the other packages, so you can just type something
> like "ldapsh" and be connected to the default server as your default user,
> with default ssl/nossl settings.
>    LDAP::Desc
> A simple package for storing descriptions of LDAP attributes.  This is
> useful for prompting people for information, either on the CLI or on a web
> page; instead of prompting for 'uid', you can prompt for 'Login ID' or
> whatever.
> 
> So my main question is, does anyone have a problem with me using this
> namespace, or is there already a better namespace to put this under?  I
> can't seem to find an appropriate one, but that doesn't mean it's not
> there.
> 
> And if someone has already done any or all of this, I would love to hear
> about it.  I'm not planning on devoting a ton of time to this, but it's
> something I've wanted for a long time, and I've got enough of a foundation
> of routines that it's not taking me much extra work (I already had
> everything except the LDAP::Shell package done, but that's the package I
> think people would be the most interested in).
> 
> Lastly, I have a few coding questions:
> 
> I am planning on autoloading each command from something like
> LDAP::Shell::Commands, so that I don't take the hit of compiling
> everything at once.  This also makes it easy for anyone to add new
> commands to the shell.  I'm also planning on providing the ability to set
> some kind of search path, so that the package will search other
> directories for commands to load.  Does that sound like an extensible,
> sensible solution, or does someone else have some amazingly obvious or
> great solution for me?
> 
> Also, because I want the commands available in this shell to resemble Unix
> commands, I am using Getopt::Long to parse their options.  It appears that
> Getopt::Long will only look at @ARGV, so I am setting @ARGV = @_ before I
> call the routines.  Is that retarded, and is there a better way to do it?
> 
> I'm mainly writing this for myself, because I'm tired of dealing with GUI
> apps, and it just isn't that hard, but I figure if I do it, I might as
> well make it available.  The reason I want to make it available with this
> many packages is that it relies on a number of packages I've written over
> the years, and they've finally gotten to the point where I really can't do
> much without them.
> 
> Anyway, I'd love to hear feedback.  And BTW Graham, thanks ever so much
> for Net::LDAP!
> 
> Luke Kanies
> 
> -- 
> The Number 1 Sign You Have Nothing to Do at Work...
>    The 4th Division of Paperclips has overrun the Pushpin Infantry
>    and General White-Out has called for a new skirmish.
> 
> 
> 
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