com.unboundid.ldap.sdk
Class DN

java.lang.Object
  extended by com.unboundid.ldap.sdk.DN
All Implemented Interfaces:
java.io.Serializable, java.lang.Comparable<DN>, java.util.Comparator<DN>

@NotMutable
@ThreadSafety(level=COMPLETELY_THREADSAFE)
public final class DN
extends java.lang.Object
implements java.lang.Comparable<DN>, java.util.Comparator<DN>, java.io.Serializable

This class provides a data structure for holding information about an LDAP distinguished name (DN). A DN consists of a comma-delimited list of zero or more RDN components. See RFC 4514 for more information about representing DNs and RDNs as strings.

Examples of valid DNs (excluding the quotation marks, which are provided for clarity) include:

Note that there is some inherent ambiguity in the string representations of distinguished names. In particular, there may be differences in spacing (particularly around commas and equal signs, as well as plus signs in multivalued RDNs), and also differences in capitalization in attribute names and/or values. For example, the strings "uid=john.doe,ou=people,dc=example,dc=com" and "UID = JOHN.DOE , OU = PEOPLE , DC = EXAMPLE , DC = COM" actually refer to the same distinguished name. To deal with these differences, the normalized representation may be used. The normalized representation is a standardized way of representing a DN, and it is obtained by eliminating any unnecessary spaces and converting all non-case-sensitive characters to lowercase. The normalized representation of a DN may be obtained using the toNormalizedString() method, and two DNs may be compared to determine if they are equal using the standard equals(java.lang.Object) method.

Distinguished names are hierarchical. The rightmost RDN refers to the root of the directory information tree (DIT), and each successive RDN to the left indicates the addition of another level of hierarchy. For example, in the DN "uid=john.doe,ou=People,o=example.com", the entry "o=example.com" is at the root of the DIT, the entry "ou=People,o=example.com" is an immediate descendant of the "o=example.com" entry, and the "uid=john.doe,ou=People,o=example.com" entry is an immediate descendant of the "ou=People,o=example.com" entry. Similarly, the entry "uid=jane.doe,ou=People,o=example.com" would be considered a peer of the "uid=john.doe,ou=People,o=example.com" entry because they have the same parent.

Note that in some cases, the root of the DIT may actually contain a DN with multiple RDNs. For example, in the DN "uid=john.doe,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com", the directory server may or may not actually have a "dc=com" entry. In many such cases, the base entry may actually be just "dc=example,dc=com". The DNs of the entries that are at the base of the directory information tree are called "naming contexts" or "suffixes" and they are generally available in the namingContexts attribute of the root DSE. See the RootDSE class for more information about interacting with the server root DSE.

This class provides methods for making determinations based on the hierarchical relationships of DNs. For example, the isAncestorOf(com.unboundid.ldap.sdk.DN, boolean) and isDescendantOf(com.unboundid.ldap.sdk.DN, boolean) methods may be used to determine whether two DNs have a hierarchical relationship. In addition, this class implements the Comparable and Comparator interfaces so that it may be used to easily sort DNs (ancestors will always be sorted before descendants, and peers will always be sorted lexicographically based on their normalized representations).

See Also:
Serialized Form

Field Summary
static DN NULL_DN
          A pre-allocated DN object equivalent to the null DN.
 
Constructor Summary
DN(java.util.List<RDN> rdns)
          Creates a new DN with the provided set of RDNs.
DN(RDN... rdns)
          Creates a new DN with the provided set of RDNs.
DN(RDN rdn, DN parentDN)
          Creates a new DN below the provided parent DN with the given RDN.
DN(java.lang.String dnString)
          Creates a new DN from the provided string representation.
DN(java.lang.String dnString, Schema schema)
          Creates a new DN from the provided string representation.
 
Method Summary
 int compare(DN dn1, DN dn2)
          Compares the provided DN values to determine their relative order in a sorted list.
static int compare(java.lang.String s1, java.lang.String s2)
          Compares the DNs with the provided string representations to determine their relative order in a sorted list.
static int compare(java.lang.String s1, java.lang.String s2, Schema schema)
          Compares the DNs with the provided string representations to determine their relative order in a sorted list.
 int compareTo(DN dn)
          Compares the provided DN to this DN to determine their relative order in a sorted list.
 boolean equals(java.lang.Object o)
          Indicates whether the provided object is equal to this DN.
 boolean equals(java.lang.String s)
          Indicates whether the DN with the provided string representation is equal to this DN.
static boolean equals(java.lang.String s1, java.lang.String s2)
          Indicates whether the two provided strings represent the same DN.
 DN getParent()
          Retrieves the DN that is the parent for this DN.
static DN getParent(java.lang.String s)
          Retrieves the DN that is the parent for the DN with the provided string representation.
 java.lang.String getParentString()
          Retrieves the string representation of the DN that is the parent for this DN.
static java.lang.String getParentString(java.lang.String s)
          Retrieves the string representation of the DN that is the parent for the DN with the provided string representation.
 RDN getRDN()
          Retrieves the leftmost (i.e., furthest from the naming context) RDN component for this DN.
 RDN[] getRDNs()
          Retrieves the set of RDNs that comprise this DN.
static RDN[] getRDNs(java.lang.String s)
          Retrieves the set of RDNs that comprise the DN with the provided string representation.
 java.lang.String getRDNString()
          Retrieves the string representation of the leftmost (i.e., furthest from the naming context) RDN component for this DN.
static java.lang.String getRDNString(java.lang.String s)
          Retrieves the string representation of the leftmost (i.e., furthest from the naming context) RDN component for the DN with the provided string representation.
 java.lang.String[] getRDNStrings()
          Retrieves the set of string representations of the RDNs that comprise this DN.
static java.lang.String[] getRDNStrings(java.lang.String s)
          Retrieves the set of string representations of the RDNs that comprise this DN.
 int hashCode()
          Generates a hash code for this DN.
 boolean isAncestorOf(DN dn, boolean allowEquals)
          Indicates whether this DN is an ancestor of the provided DN.
 boolean isAncestorOf(java.lang.String s, boolean allowEquals)
          Indicates whether this DN is an ancestor of the DN with the provided string representation.
static boolean isAncestorOf(java.lang.String s1, java.lang.String s2, boolean allowEquals)
          Indicates whether the DN represented by the first string is an ancestor of the DN represented by the second string.
 boolean isDescendantOf(DN dn, boolean allowEquals)
          Indicates whether this DN is a descendant of the provided DN.
 boolean isDescendantOf(java.lang.String s, boolean allowEquals)
          Indicates whether this DN is a descendant of the DN with the provided string representation.
static boolean isDescendantOf(java.lang.String s1, java.lang.String s2, boolean allowEquals)
          Indicates whether the DN represented by the first string is a descendant of the DN represented by the second string.
 boolean isNullDN()
          Indicates whether this DN represents the null DN, which does not have any RDN components.
static boolean isValidDN(java.lang.String s)
          Indicates whether the provided string represents a valid DN.
 boolean matchesBaseAndScope(DN baseDN, SearchScope scope)
          Indicates whether this DN falls within the range of the provided search base DN and scope.
 boolean matchesBaseAndScope(java.lang.String baseDN, SearchScope scope)
          Indicates whether this DN falls within the range of the provided search base DN and scope.
static java.lang.String normalize(java.lang.String s)
          Retrieves a normalized representation of the DN with the provided string representation.
static java.lang.String normalize(java.lang.String s, Schema schema)
          Retrieves a normalized representation of the DN with the provided string representation.
 java.lang.String toMinimallyEncodedString()
          Retrieves a string representation of this DN with minimal encoding for special characters.
 java.lang.String toNormalizedString()
          Retrieves a normalized string representation of this DN.
 void toNormalizedString(java.lang.StringBuilder buffer)
          Appends a normalized string representation of this DN to the provided buffer.
 java.lang.String toString()
          Retrieves a string representation of this DN.
 void toString(java.lang.StringBuilder buffer)
          Appends a string representation of this DN to the provided buffer.
 void toString(java.lang.StringBuilder buffer, boolean minimizeEncoding)
          Appends a string representation of this DN to the provided buffer.
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, finalize, getClass, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait
 

Field Detail

NULL_DN

public static final DN NULL_DN
A pre-allocated DN object equivalent to the null DN.

Constructor Detail

DN

public DN(RDN... rdns)
Creates a new DN with the provided set of RDNs.

Parameters:
rdns - The RDN components for this DN. It must not be null.

DN

public DN(java.util.List<RDN> rdns)
Creates a new DN with the provided set of RDNs.

Parameters:
rdns - The RDN components for this DN. It must not be null.

DN

public DN(RDN rdn,
          DN parentDN)
Creates a new DN below the provided parent DN with the given RDN.

Parameters:
rdn - The RDN for the new DN. It must not be null.
parentDN - The parent DN for the new DN to create. It must not be null.

DN

public DN(java.lang.String dnString)
   throws LDAPException
Creates a new DN from the provided string representation.

Parameters:
dnString - The string representation to use to create this DN. It must not be null.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a valid DN.

DN

public DN(java.lang.String dnString,
          Schema schema)
   throws LDAPException
Creates a new DN from the provided string representation.

Parameters:
dnString - The string representation to use to create this DN. It must not be null.
schema - The schema to use to generate the normalized string representation of this DN. It may be null if no schema is available.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a valid DN.
Method Detail

isValidDN

public static boolean isValidDN(java.lang.String s)
Indicates whether the provided string represents a valid DN.

Parameters:
s - The string for which to make the determination. It must not be null.
Returns:
true if the provided string represents a valid DN, or false if not.

getRDN

public RDN getRDN()
Retrieves the leftmost (i.e., furthest from the naming context) RDN component for this DN.

Returns:
The leftmost RDN component for this DN, or null if this DN does not have any RDNs (i.e., it is the null DN).

getRDNString

public java.lang.String getRDNString()
Retrieves the string representation of the leftmost (i.e., furthest from the naming context) RDN component for this DN.

Returns:
The string representation of the leftmost RDN component for this DN, or null if this DN does not have any RDNs (i.e., it is the null DN).

getRDNString

public static java.lang.String getRDNString(java.lang.String s)
                                     throws LDAPException
Retrieves the string representation of the leftmost (i.e., furthest from the naming context) RDN component for the DN with the provided string representation.

Parameters:
s - The string representation of the DN to process. It must not be null.
Returns:
The string representation of the leftmost RDN component for this DN, or null if this DN does not have any RDNs (i.e., it is the null DN).
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a DN.

getRDNs

public RDN[] getRDNs()
Retrieves the set of RDNs that comprise this DN.

Returns:
The set of RDNs that comprise this DN.

getRDNs

public static RDN[] getRDNs(java.lang.String s)
                     throws LDAPException
Retrieves the set of RDNs that comprise the DN with the provided string representation.

Parameters:
s - The string representation of the DN for which to retrieve the RDNs. It must not be null.
Returns:
The set of RDNs that comprise the DN with the provided string representation.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a DN.

getRDNStrings

public java.lang.String[] getRDNStrings()
Retrieves the set of string representations of the RDNs that comprise this DN.

Returns:
The set of string representations of the RDNs that comprise this DN.

getRDNStrings

public static java.lang.String[] getRDNStrings(java.lang.String s)
                                        throws LDAPException
Retrieves the set of string representations of the RDNs that comprise this DN.

Parameters:
s - The string representation of the DN for which to retrieve the RDN strings. It must not be null.
Returns:
The set of string representations of the RDNs that comprise this DN.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a DN.

isNullDN

public boolean isNullDN()
Indicates whether this DN represents the null DN, which does not have any RDN components.

Returns:
true if this DN represents the null DN, or false if not.

getParent

public DN getParent()
Retrieves the DN that is the parent for this DN. Note that neither the null DN nor DNs consisting of a single RDN component will be considered to have parent DNs.

Returns:
The DN that is the parent for this DN, or null if there is no parent.

getParent

public static DN getParent(java.lang.String s)
                    throws LDAPException
Retrieves the DN that is the parent for the DN with the provided string representation. Note that neither the null DN nor DNs consisting of a single RDN component will be considered to have parent DNs.

Parameters:
s - The string representation of the DN for which to retrieve the parent. It must not be null.
Returns:
The DN that is the parent for this DN, or null if there is no parent.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a DN.

getParentString

public java.lang.String getParentString()
Retrieves the string representation of the DN that is the parent for this DN. Note that neither the null DN nor DNs consisting of a single RDN component will be considered to have parent DNs.

Returns:
The DN that is the parent for this DN, or null if there is no parent.

getParentString

public static java.lang.String getParentString(java.lang.String s)
                                        throws LDAPException
Retrieves the string representation of the DN that is the parent for the DN with the provided string representation. Note that neither the null DN nor DNs consisting of a single RDN component will be considered to have parent DNs.

Parameters:
s - The string representation of the DN for which to retrieve the parent. It must not be null.
Returns:
The DN that is the parent for this DN, or null if there is no parent.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a DN.

isAncestorOf

public boolean isAncestorOf(DN dn,
                            boolean allowEquals)
Indicates whether this DN is an ancestor of the provided DN. It will be considered an ancestor of the provided DN if the array of RDN components for the provided DN ends with the elements that comprise the array of RDN components for this DN (i.e., if the provided DN is subordinate to, or optionally equal to, this DN). The null DN will be considered an ancestor for all other DNs (with the exception of the null DN if allowEquals is false).

Parameters:
dn - The DN for which to make the determination.
allowEquals - Indicates whether a DN should be considered an ancestor of itself.
Returns:
true if this DN may be considered an ancestor of the provided DN, or false if not.

isAncestorOf

public boolean isAncestorOf(java.lang.String s,
                            boolean allowEquals)
                     throws LDAPException
Indicates whether this DN is an ancestor of the DN with the provided string representation. It will be considered an ancestor of the provided DN if the array of RDN components for the provided DN ends with the elements that comprise the array of RDN components for this DN (i.e., if the provided DN is subordinate to, or optionally equal to, this DN). The null DN will be considered an ancestor for all other DNs (with the exception of the null DN if allowEquals is false).

Parameters:
s - The string representation of the DN for which to make the determination.
allowEquals - Indicates whether a DN should be considered an ancestor of itself.
Returns:
true if this DN may be considered an ancestor of the provided DN, or false if not.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a DN.

isAncestorOf

public static boolean isAncestorOf(java.lang.String s1,
                                   java.lang.String s2,
                                   boolean allowEquals)
                            throws LDAPException
Indicates whether the DN represented by the first string is an ancestor of the DN represented by the second string. The first DN will be considered an ancestor of the second DN if the array of RDN components for the first DN ends with the elements that comprise the array of RDN components for the second DN (i.e., if the first DN is subordinate to, or optionally equal to, the second DN). The null DN will be considered an ancestor for all other DNs (with the exception of the null DN if allowEquals is false).

Parameters:
s1 - The string representation of the first DN for which to make the determination.
s2 - The string representation of the second DN for which to make the determination.
allowEquals - Indicates whether a DN should be considered an ancestor of itself.
Returns:
true if the first DN may be considered an ancestor of the second DN, or false if not.
Throws:
LDAPException - If either of the provided strings cannot be parsed as a DN.

isDescendantOf

public boolean isDescendantOf(DN dn,
                              boolean allowEquals)
Indicates whether this DN is a descendant of the provided DN. It will be considered a descendant of the provided DN if the array of RDN components for this DN ends with the elements that comprise the RDN components for the provided DN (i.e., if this DN is subordinate to, or optionally equal to, the provided DN). The null DN will not be considered a descendant for any other DNs (with the exception of the null DN if allowEquals is true).

Parameters:
dn - The DN for which to make the determination.
allowEquals - Indicates whether a DN should be considered a descendant of itself.
Returns:
true if this DN may be considered a descendant of the provided DN, or false if not.

isDescendantOf

public boolean isDescendantOf(java.lang.String s,
                              boolean allowEquals)
                       throws LDAPException
Indicates whether this DN is a descendant of the DN with the provided string representation. It will be considered a descendant of the provided DN if the array of RDN components for this DN ends with the elements that comprise the RDN components for the provided DN (i.e., if this DN is subordinate to, or optionally equal to, the provided DN). The null DN will not be considered a descendant for any other DNs (with the exception of the null DN if allowEquals is true).

Parameters:
s - The string representation of the DN for which to make the determination.
allowEquals - Indicates whether a DN should be considered a descendant of itself.
Returns:
true if this DN may be considered a descendant of the provided DN, or false if not.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a DN.

isDescendantOf

public static boolean isDescendantOf(java.lang.String s1,
                                     java.lang.String s2,
                                     boolean allowEquals)
                              throws LDAPException
Indicates whether the DN represented by the first string is a descendant of the DN represented by the second string. The first DN will be considered a descendant of the second DN if the array of RDN components for the first DN ends with the elements that comprise the RDN components for the second DN (i.e., if the first DN is subordinate to, or optionally equal to, the second DN). The null DN will not be considered a descendant for any other DNs (with the exception of the null DN if allowEquals is true).

Parameters:
s1 - The string representation of the first DN for which to make the determination.
s2 - The string representation of the second DN for which to make the determination.
allowEquals - Indicates whether a DN should be considered an ancestor of itself.
Returns:
true if this DN may be considered a descendant of the provided DN, or false if not.
Throws:
LDAPException - If either of the provided strings cannot be parsed as a DN.

matchesBaseAndScope

public boolean matchesBaseAndScope(java.lang.String baseDN,
                                   SearchScope scope)
                            throws LDAPException
Indicates whether this DN falls within the range of the provided search base DN and scope.

Parameters:
baseDN - The base DN for which to make the determination. It must not be null.
scope - The scope for which to make the determination. It must not be null.
Returns:
true if this DN is within the range of the provided base and scope, or false if not.
Throws:
LDAPException - If a problem occurs while making the determination.

matchesBaseAndScope

public boolean matchesBaseAndScope(DN baseDN,
                                   SearchScope scope)
                            throws LDAPException
Indicates whether this DN falls within the range of the provided search base DN and scope.

Parameters:
baseDN - The base DN for which to make the determination. It must not be null.
scope - The scope for which to make the determination. It must not be null.
Returns:
true if this DN is within the range of the provided base and scope, or false if not.
Throws:
LDAPException - If a problem occurs while making the determination.

hashCode

public int hashCode()
Generates a hash code for this DN.

Overrides:
hashCode in class java.lang.Object
Returns:
The generated hash code for this DN.

equals

public boolean equals(java.lang.Object o)
Indicates whether the provided object is equal to this DN. In order for the provided object to be considered equal, it must be a non-null DN with the same set of RDN components.

Specified by:
equals in interface java.util.Comparator<DN>
Overrides:
equals in class java.lang.Object
Parameters:
o - The object for which to make the determination.
Returns:
true if the provided object is considered equal to this DN, or false if not.

equals

public boolean equals(java.lang.String s)
               throws LDAPException
Indicates whether the DN with the provided string representation is equal to this DN.

Parameters:
s - The string representation of the DN to compare with this DN.
Returns:
true if the DN with the provided string representation is equal to this DN, or false if not.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a DN.

equals

public static boolean equals(java.lang.String s1,
                             java.lang.String s2)
                      throws LDAPException
Indicates whether the two provided strings represent the same DN.

Parameters:
s1 - The string representation of the first DN for which to make the determination. It must not be null.
s2 - The string representation of the second DN for which to make the determination. It must not be null.
Returns:
true if the provided strings represent the same DN, or false if not.
Throws:
LDAPException - If either of the provided strings cannot be parsed as a DN.

toString

public java.lang.String toString()
Retrieves a string representation of this DN.

Overrides:
toString in class java.lang.Object
Returns:
A string representation of this DN.

toMinimallyEncodedString

public java.lang.String toMinimallyEncodedString()
Retrieves a string representation of this DN with minimal encoding for special characters. Only those characters specified in RFC 4514 section 2.4 will be escaped. No escaping will be used for non-ASCII characters or non-printable ASCII characters.

Returns:
A string representation of this DN with minimal encoding for special characters.

toString

public void toString(java.lang.StringBuilder buffer)
Appends a string representation of this DN to the provided buffer.

Parameters:
buffer - The buffer to which to append the string representation of this DN.

toString

public void toString(java.lang.StringBuilder buffer,
                     boolean minimizeEncoding)
Appends a string representation of this DN to the provided buffer.

Parameters:
buffer - The buffer to which the string representation is to be appended.
minimizeEncoding - Indicates whether to restrict the encoding of special characters to the bare minimum required by LDAP (as per RFC 4514 section 2.4). If this is true, then only leading and trailing spaces, double quotes, plus signs, commas, semicolons, greater-than, less-than, and backslash characters will be encoded.

toNormalizedString

public java.lang.String toNormalizedString()
Retrieves a normalized string representation of this DN.

Returns:
A normalized string representation of this DN.

toNormalizedString

public void toNormalizedString(java.lang.StringBuilder buffer)
Appends a normalized string representation of this DN to the provided buffer.

Parameters:
buffer - The buffer to which to append the normalized string representation of this DN.

normalize

public static java.lang.String normalize(java.lang.String s)
                                  throws LDAPException
Retrieves a normalized representation of the DN with the provided string representation.

Parameters:
s - The string representation of the DN to normalize. It must not be null.
Returns:
The normalized representation of the DN with the provided string representation.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a DN.

normalize

public static java.lang.String normalize(java.lang.String s,
                                         Schema schema)
                                  throws LDAPException
Retrieves a normalized representation of the DN with the provided string representation.

Parameters:
s - The string representation of the DN to normalize. It must not be null.
schema - The schema to use to generate the normalized string representation of the DN. It may be null if no schema is available.
Returns:
The normalized representation of the DN with the provided string representation.
Throws:
LDAPException - If the provided string cannot be parsed as a DN.

compareTo

public int compareTo(DN dn)
Compares the provided DN to this DN to determine their relative order in a sorted list.

Specified by:
compareTo in interface java.lang.Comparable<DN>
Parameters:
dn - The DN to compare against this DN. It must not be null.
Returns:
A negative integer if this DN should come before the provided DN in a sorted list, a positive integer if this DN should come after the provided DN in a sorted list, or zero if the provided DN can be considered equal to this DN.

compare

public int compare(DN dn1,
                   DN dn2)
Compares the provided DN values to determine their relative order in a sorted list.

Specified by:
compare in interface java.util.Comparator<DN>
Parameters:
dn1 - The first DN to be compared. It must not be null.
dn2 - The second DN to be compared. It must not be null.
Returns:
A negative integer if the first DN should come before the second DN in a sorted list, a positive integer if the first DN should come after the second DN in a sorted list, or zero if the two DN values can be considered equal.

compare

public static int compare(java.lang.String s1,
                          java.lang.String s2)
                   throws LDAPException
Compares the DNs with the provided string representations to determine their relative order in a sorted list.

Parameters:
s1 - The string representation for the first DN to be compared. It must not be null.
s2 - The string representation for the second DN to be compared. It must not be null.
Returns:
A negative integer if the first DN should come before the second DN in a sorted list, a positive integer if the first DN should come after the second DN in a sorted list, or zero if the two DN values can be considered equal.
Throws:
LDAPException - If either of the provided strings cannot be parsed as a DN.

compare

public static int compare(java.lang.String s1,
                          java.lang.String s2,
                          Schema schema)
                   throws LDAPException
Compares the DNs with the provided string representations to determine their relative order in a sorted list.

Parameters:
s1 - The string representation for the first DN to be compared. It must not be null.
s2 - The string representation for the second DN to be compared. It must not be null.
schema - The schema to use to generate the normalized string representations of the DNs. It may be null if no schema is available.
Returns:
A negative integer if the first DN should come before the second DN in a sorted list, a positive integer if the first DN should come after the second DN in a sorted list, or zero if the two DN values can be considered equal.
Throws:
LDAPException - If either of the provided strings cannot be parsed as a DN.