ABSTRACT
DAP (Directory Access Protocol) was introduced circa 1988 to provide open network support for directory services according to the X.500 standard. A directory typically, although not exclusively, holds information on individuals, for example, name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and so on. DAP’s complexity made it unappealing to developers who were faced with implementing the client side of the protocol on limited resource devices such as PCs (they were limited in the early to mid-1990s). Hence the idea of a cut-down, lightweight version (LDAP) gained credence. Netscape, the University of Michigan, and 40 other companies initially promoted it in 1996.
