To run the applets, you can use any Java-compatible Web browser, such as Firefox, or Internet Explorer v5 or later. To ensure that your applets take full advantage of the latest features of the Java platform software, you can use the Java Plug-in with your Web browser.
A service provider is software that maps the JNDI API to actual calls to the naming or directory server. Typically, the roles of the service provider and that of the naming/directory server differ. In the terminology of client/server software, the JNDI and the service provider are the client (called the JNDI client) and the naming/directory server is the server.
Clients and servers may interact in many ways. In one common way, they use a network protocol so that the client and server can exist autonomously in a networked environment. The server typically supports many different clients, not only JNDI clients, provided that the clients conform to the specified protocol. The JNDI does not dictate any particular style of interaction between JNDI clients and servers. For example, at one extreme the client and server could be the same entity.
You need to obtain the classes for the service providers that you will be using. For example, if you plan to use the JNDI to access an LDAP directory server, then you would need software for an LDAP service provider.
The JDK comes with service providers for:
This tutorial uses only the LDAP Service provider. When using the LDAP service provider, you need either to set up your own server or to have access to an existing server, as explained next.
For the directory examples in this tutorial, you need access to an LDAP server. If you would like to take a quick tour of what LDAP is check out here. You can use any LDAP-compliant server of your choice. The Sun Java Directory Server, which runs on many platforms, including Windows, is available for evaluation at: Sun Java Directory Server home.
You can also download free LDAP servers below:
A publicly accessible server is available at: ldap://ldap.openldap.org Naming Context: dc=OpenLDAP,dc=org