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LDIF Format (LDAP Data Interchange Format)

Description​

LDIF (LDAP Data Interchange Format) is a text format for representing LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) directory entries. It's used for importing and exporting directory data, and is commonly used with LDAP servers.

File Extensions​

  • .ldif - LDIF format files

Implementation Details​

Reading​

The LDIF implementation:

  • Uses ldif3 for parsing (pip install iterabledata[ldif])
  • Parses LDIF format line by line
  • Extracts directory entries (DN and attributes)
  • Handles continuation lines
  • Converts each entry to a dictionary
  • Supports streaming for large files

Writing​

Writing support:

  • Requires a dn field on each record
  • Writes attributes as key: value lines
  • Install with pip install iterabledata[ldif] (ldif3)

Key Features​

  • Directory format: Designed for LDAP directory data
  • Entry-based: Each entry represents a directory object
  • Attribute extraction: Extracts LDAP attributes
  • Totals support: Can count total entries
  • Streaming: Processes files line by line

Usage​

from iterable import open_iterable

# Basic reading
with open_iterable('directory.ldif') as source:
    for entry in source:
        print(entry)  # Contains DN and attributes

# Writing
with open_iterable('output.ldif', mode='w') as dest:
    dest.write({'dn': 'cn=Ada,dc=example,dc=org', 'cn': 'Ada', 'mail': 'ada@example.org'})

Parameters​

  • encoding (str): File encoding (default: utf8)

LDIF Format Structure​

LDIF entries consist of:

  • DN: Distinguished Name (entry identifier)
  • Attributes: Key-value pairs (attribute: value)
  • Continuation lines: Lines starting with space continue previous attribute

Limitations​

  1. LDIF extra: Requires pip install iterabledata[ldif] (ldif3)
  2. LDAP focus: Designed for LDAP directory data
  3. Format complexity: Complex LDAP structures may require manual handling

Compression Support​

LDIF files can be compressed with all supported codecs:

  • GZip (.ldif.gz)
  • BZip2 (.ldif.bz2)
  • LZMA (.ldif.xz)
  • LZ4 (.ldif.lz4)
  • ZIP (.ldif.zip)
  • Brotli (.ldif.br)
  • ZStandard (.ldif.zst)

Use Cases​

  • LDAP directories: Working with LDAP directory data
  • User management: Managing user directory data
  • Data migration: Migrating directory data
  • Directory sync: Synchronizing directory data

Error Handling​

  • Missing dependency: optional libraries raise ImportError with an install hint (pip install 'iterabledata[<extra>]' when an extra exists).
  • Write mode: read-only formats raise WriteNotSupportedError or ValueError when opened with mode="w".
  • Bad or unsupported input: may raise ValueError, OSError, or library-specific errors.
  • See Troubleshooting for decoding, detection, and engine issues.
  • CSV - Simple text format
  • JSON - Structured format