This specification is intended for clients of the Active Directory interfaces, such as:
. Typically, this audience will access the Active Directory interfaces through a scripting language, such as Microsoft® Visual Basic®, although C/C++ can also be used to enhance performance. For example, an administrator could write a script to add 100 new users to the system.
. Typically, this audience will access the Active Directory interfaces through a compiled language such as C++, although Visual Basic can be used for prototyping the application. For example, a developer could write an application to manage network printing.
This specification can also be useful for:
. This audience will implement the Active Directory interfaces. Providers follow the specifications for the Active Directory objects to develop an implementation of the objects with the on-the-wire protocol for a specific network environment that they are supporting. Providers who follow the specifications for Active Directory objects ensure consistent access to well-known directory service objects. Provider writers will be interested primarily in the Software Development Kit.
Readers of this document are assumed to have a working knowledge of the Component Object Model and directory services. Example code is given in Visual Basic and C/C++.