Patent ID: 6850928

Claim:
A system for automatically retrieving a directory object from a database, comprising: a request reception module that receives a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) request for an attribute of said directory object that is expressed in a proprietary format; and a request fulfillment module, associated with said request reception module, that, if said directory object contains said attribute expressed in said proprietary format, retrieves said attribute expressed in said proprietary format from said database and responds to said LDAP request with an LDAP response including said attribute expressed in said proprietary format and, if said directory object does not contain said attribute expressed in said proprietary format, retrieves said attribute expressed in a standard format from said database and responds to said LDAP request with an LDAP response including said attribute expressed in said standard format recast to appear to LDAP as if said attribute were expressed in said proprietary format even though said attribute in said response is actually expressed in said standard format.