Each directory entry has a set of attributes associated with it through its object class. While the object class describes the type of information that an entry contains, the actual data is contained in attributes. An attribute is represented by one or more name-value-pairs that hold specific data element such as a name, an address, or a telephone number. The Directory Server represents data as name-value-pairs, a descriptive attribute, such as commonName (cn), and a specific piece of information, such as John Doe.
For example, the entry for John Doe might contain several attribute name-value-pairs.
dn: uid=jdoe, ou=people, ou=mycompany, c=us objectClass: top objectClass: person objectClass: organizationalPerson cn: John Doe sn: Doe givenName: Jack givenName: John
While the standard attributes are already defined in the schema, you can create, edit, copy, or delete attributes definitions to suit the needs of your organization.
For more information, see the following: