Ive yet to come across a great description of what LDAP is and does. From my understanding it acts as a frontend for a database like MySQL. My ultimate goal is to get Mozilla Thunderbird running with database support for an addressbook and calendar so that they are accessible from webmail (Horde) as well as thunderbird. I know thunderbird has LDAP acess built in, but is it what I want? Should i jsut try to find a Thudnerbird extension that allows straight MySQL access? I currently have MySQL5 installed on my Debian Etch server, and I am very happy with its performance. What kind of overhead does LDAP create? Will LDAP create any issues with php or cgi based web apps that access the MySQL database directly? Is there anythign else I should know before trying to install LDAP? Thanks for your help.
Im not quite sure, but if you ever dont know what something means just do a google search like define: ldap Look at this it has some good definition for ldap: Definitions
Haha, my favorite: LDAP stands for 'Lightweight Directory Access Protocol' and apparently does databasey things. Like I said, I kind of have an idea of what LDAP *might* do, but anyone who has used LDAP and has a better understanding of it that can supply a layman's definition would be greatly appreciated.
Maybe you should search further. LDAP is for maintaining a user "database", but it's nowhere related to anything like MySQL. It's similar to Microsoft Active Directory. So, yes, Thunderbird can use LDAP for a contact address book. TB does not have anything to do with MySQL. If you want an integrated MTA solution (with LDAP, MySQL etc) have a look at Zimbra: http://www.zimbra.com. But maybe you want something much more simpler....
While zimbra looks amazing, it does look a bit more than what I want. I have Horde installed with webmail, calendar and addressbook functions, and Im just trying to find some client software that i can say "the address books is in this table", "the calendar is in this table" so i can share that information between webmail and client.
