ldap_connect - PHP code example

PHP Function LDAP_Connect

A php function ldap_connect allows you to connect to LDAP servers and perform actions like bind, search, add, modify, and delete directory entries. LDAP stands for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, and it’s used to store and manage directory data, allowing enterprise network admins to quickly find user information and assets across their company.

The structure of an LDAP directory is much like the directories on your hard disk, with divisions in a tree format. For instance, the root of the directory contains the top-level category, which is “The world,” and then there are subdirectories for individual countries. And then lower levels contain directory entries for companies, organisations, and places.

LDAP searches use the Distinguished Name (DN) assigned to a particular entry as a path through the directory structure to quickly find the desired results. LDAP is like an experienced librarian that knows where to look for what you want, despite it not being immediately obvious from the DN alone.

There are many different attribute types and syntaxes that can help narrow down searches, but the LDAP architecture is designed to keep it lightweight so that it’s simple for most network admins to understand and work with. LDAP also has other features that can make it more useful for user management, such as group-based access control and the ability to create virtual workspaces to store all of a user’s files in one place.

ldap_connect example

namespace Symfony\Component\Ldap\Tests;

use PHPUnit\Framework\TestCase;

class LdapTestCase extends TestCase
{
    protected function getLdapConfig()
    {
        $h = @ldap_connect(getenv('LDAP_HOST'), getenv('LDAP_PORT'));
        @ldap_set_option($h, \LDAP_OPT_PROTOCOL_VERSION, 3);

        if (!$h || !@ldap_bind($h)) {
            $this->markTestSkipped('No server is listening on LDAP_HOST:LDAP_PORT');
        }

        ldap_unbind($h);

        return [
            'host' => getenv('LDAP_HOST'),
            'port' => getenv('LDAP_PORT'),
        ];

        if ($this->connection) {
            return;
        }

        foreach ($this->config['options'] as $name => $value) {
            if (\in_array(ConnectionOptions::getOption($name), self::PRECONNECT_OPTIONS, true)) {
                $this->setOption($name, $value);
            }
        }

        if (false === $connection = ldap_connect($this->config['connection_string'])) {
            throw new LdapException('Invalid connection string: '.$this->config['connection_string']);
        } else {
            $this->connection = $connection;
        }

        foreach ($this->config['options'] as $name => $value) {
            if (!\in_array(ConnectionOptions::getOption($name), self::PRECONNECT_OPTIONS, true)) {
                $this->setOption($name, $value);
            }
        }