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).