Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) is a set of COM interfaces used to access the features of directory services from different network providers. ADSI is employed in a distributed computing environment to provide one set of directory service interfaces for managing network resources. Administrators and developers can use ADSI services to enumerate and manage the resources in a directory service, whichever network environment includes the resource.
Microsoft has launched Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) for Windows 9x, NT, and Windows 2000, and today it is inbuilt in Windows 2000. The Windows 2000 program specification says you have to utilize Active Directory as you can, so today you are thinking: Just how are YOUR programs going to accommodate? What changes do you have to make? Are you going to use Delphi efficiently to make these modifications? This is precisely what I intend to deal with in this demonstration.
Allow me to introduce a"directory service". A directory service is similar to a phone directory: if you've got an individual's name, it is possible to discover his/her telephone. Directory support keeps tabs on"tools", which may be anything -- a document system is a directory that keeps track of folders and files, an email server is a directory service that indexes users, user groups, etc. there are lots of directory services already set up: we have record systems and email servers. What is so different? Traditionally, you would need to use different API's (Application Programming Interfaces) to get different directory solutions -- that:
Restrict one to the seller's directory support. For instance, if you wrote a program that pulled email info from Microsoft Mail and utilized the Mail Application Programmers Interface (MAPI), you'd find it hard to move to another seller.
Boost development time to your software since you want to find out more APIs to receive your program working.
There's a requirement to have a frequent model that each directory service would encourage -- like the ODBC programming model, all (or many ) database vendors now support. A version that will encourage a hierarchy of tools, like files and folders, and be easy to use. Active Directory provides this version. To get an Active Directory, you'll use Active Directory Service Interfaces(ADSI).
ADSI allows ordinary administrative tasks, like adding new users, managing printers, and finding resources in a distributed computing environment.
Active Directory Service Interfaces (ADSI) empower systems administrators and programmers of programs or C/C++ software to query and control directory service items easily. Active Directory Service Interfaces abstract the capacities of directory services from different network vendors to provide one set of directory service interfaces for managing network resources. Administrators and developers can use ADSI to manage the tools at a directory service, irrespective of which network environment includes the resource. ADSI allows administrators to automate frequent tasks such as adding users and groups, managing printers, and setting permissions on network resources.
Network Administrators can use ADSI to automate common tasks, like adding users and groups, managing printers, and setting permissions on network resources.
Independent Software Vendors and end-user programmers can use ADSI to"directory empower" their own products and software. Services can release themselves at a directory, so customers may use the directory to discover the solutions. The two may use the directory to discover and manipulate different attention items. Since Active Directory Service Interfaces are independent of the underlying directory service(s), directory-enabled merchandise and software can function successfully in multiple directories and network surroundings.
You can write ADSI client software in several languages. For most administrative jobs, ADSI defines interfaces and objects available from Automation-compliant languages such as Microsoft Visual Basic, Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript), and Java into the more functionality and efficiency-conscious languages like C and C++. A fantastic base in COM programming is helpful to this ADSI programmer.
Active Directory runs on Windows Server domain controllers. But, client software using ADSI might be written and run on Windows. Additionally, developers will need the Platform Software Development Kit (SDK), also available on the MSDN site. To investigate the contents of Active Directory, use the Active Directory Users and Computers MMC snap-in. This snap-in simplifies the Adsvw tool, which has been available for previous versions of Windows.
