Using the Active Directory Services Interface

With the Active Directory Services Interfaces (ADSI), you can use high-level tools such as Microsoft Visual Basic, Java, C, or Microsoft Visual C++® to create directory-enabled applications. With ADSI, you need not be concerned about underlying differences between various directory implementations or namespaces because, in the provider-based model that ADSI supports, ADSI can serve as the interface to a number of directory services, accessing each one through its own provider.

This means that you can build applications that use a single point of access to multiple directories in the network environment, whether those directories are based on the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP), Novell Directory Services (NDS), or the Microsoft Windows NT version 4.0 Security Account Manager (NTDS).