Transform, Report, and Convert to (and from) LDIF Files (LDAP Data Interchange Format)

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LDIF (LDAP Data Interchange Format)

Process and Convert to/from LDIF Files Quickly

Challenges:

LDIF is an interchange format for representing LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) contents and update requests. LDAP directories hold information with similar attributes, organized both logically and hierarchically; e.g. an address book sorted by name, with email and phone data attached. Advanced LDAP deployments today may use Domain Name System (DNS) names for structuring the hierarchy, with underlying entries representing a multiple entry tree.

However, while LDIF records may hold large volumes of customer and transaction information, they are not stored in a format that most applications can import or process.

Solutions:

IRI delivers LDIF and other file handling functions in two packages, which you can choose based on the level of need:

LDIF File Conversion Only
Now available from IRI is a low-cost, data migration product called NextForm. NextForm allows you to convert files in LDIF to other formats (like CSV, XML, text, etc.) or from the other formats on the left into LDIF. NextForm also supports data type conversion at the field level, and the remapping of record layouts.

Note that NextForm file definitions will work in other IRI software tools so that you can re-use your metadata if you someday want to upgrade to CoSort's fast transformation or reporting functions, FieldShield's data-centric protection functions, or RowGen for creating test data in the same format.

LDIF File Processing & Conversion
The SortCL tool inside the CoSort package can process LDAP data (i.e. sort, transform, report, protect), convert files in LDIF to other file formats, and/or create LDIF files from those formats.

Using a simple 4GL to define the layout and manipulation of your log files, you can perform and/or combine LDIF Data:

• Transformation (sort, join, group, etc.)
• Conversion (data types and file formats)
• Protection (field encryption, de-ID, etc.)
• Reporting (detail/summary format, CDC)

plus validation, pattern matching, custom tasks, etc. in the same job script and I/O pass. With SortCL, you can map one or more input files in LDIF or other formats to one or more files in other formats. You can create detail, delta or summary reports from LDIF input files. You can also hand off pre-sorted, filtered and converted subsets to database load utilities or other applications.

LDIF Test Data & Field Protection
Do you need test data in LDIF file formats? If so, see IRI's RowGen product. RowGen uses the same layout metadata as CoSort (SortCL) and NextForm so you can easily move between test data generation and real data transformation. If you need a standalone method for protecting fields in production LDIF files with encryption, masking, etc., see FieldShield.

IRI, The CoSort Company