Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP; /ˈɛldæp/) is an open, vendor-neutral, industry standard application protocol for accessing and maintaining distributed directory information services over an Internet Protocol (IP) network.Directory services play an important role in developing intranet and Internet applications by allowing the sharing of information about users, systems, networks, services, and applications throughout the network. As examples, directory services may provide any organized set of records, often with a hierarchical structure, such as a corporate email directory. Similarly, a telephone directory is a list of subscribers with an address and a phone number.

LDAP is specified in a series of Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Standard Track publications called Request for Comments (RFCs), using the description language ASN.1. The latest specification is Version 3, published as RFC 4511. For example, here is an LDAP search translated into plain English: "Search in the company email directory for all people located in Nashville whose name contains 'Jesse' that have an email address. Please return their full name, email, title, and description."