Configuration

This section describes configuring Spring Data LDAP. Spring LDAP repositories can be enabled by using a <data-ldap:repositories> tag in your XML configuration or by using an @EnableLdapRepositories annotation on a configuration class:

To include support for LdapQuery parameters in automatically generated repositories, have your interface extend LdapRepository rather than CrudRepository.

All Spring LDAP repositories must work with entities annotated with the ODM annotations, as described in Object-Directory Mapping.

Since all ODM managed classes must have a Distinguished Name as the ID, all Spring LDAP repositories must have the ID type parameter set to javax.naming.Name.

Indeed, the built-in LdapRepository only takes one type parameter: the managed entity class, which defaults the ID to javax.naming.Name.

Due to specifics of the LDAP protocol, paging and sorting are not supported for Spring LDAP repositories.

You must use ODM annotations, such as org.springframework.ldap.odm.annotations.Id. Using Spring Data’s annotation does not work, because Spring LDAP uses its own mapping layer.

Annotation-based Configuration

The Spring Data LDAP repositories support can be activated through both JavaConfig as well as a custom XML namespace, as shown in the following example:

Example 1. Spring Data LDAP repositories using JavaConfig
@Configuration
@EnableLdapRepositories("com.acme.*.repositories")
class MyConfig {

  @Bean
  ContextSource contextSource() {

    LdapContextSource ldapContextSource = new LdapContextSource();

    ldapContextSource.setUserDn("cn=Admin");
    ldapContextSource.setPassword("secret");
    ldapContextSource.setUrl("ldap://127.0.0.1:389");

    return ldapContextSource;
  }

  @Bean
  LdapTemplate ldapTemplate(ContextSource contextSource) {
    return new LdapTemplate(contextSource);
  }
}

This configuration causes the base packages to be scanned for interfaces that extend contain LDAP repositories and create Spring beans for each one found.

If no base package is configured, the infrastructure scans the package of the annotated configuration class.

Spring Namespace

The LDAP module of Spring Data contains a custom namespace that allows defining repository beans. It also contains certain features and element attributes that are special to LDAP. Generally, the LDAP repositories can be set up by using the repositories element, as shown in the following example:

Example 2. Setting up LDAP repositories by using the namespace
<beans xmlns="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans"
  xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
  xmlns:ldap="http://www.springframework.org/schema/ldap"
  xmlns:data-ldap="http://www.springframework.org/schema/data/ldap"
  xsi:schemaLocation="http://www.springframework.org/schema/beans
    https://www.springframework.org/schema/beans/spring-beans.xsd
    http://www.springframework.org/schema/ldap
    https://www.springframework.org/schema/ldap/spring-ldap.xsd
    http://www.springframework.org/schema/data/ldap
    https://www.springframework.org/schema/data/ldap/spring-ldap.xsd">

  <ldap:context-source url="ldap://127.0.0.1:389"
                     username="cn=Admin"
                     password="secret" />

  <ldap:ldap-template />

  <data-ldap:repositories base-package="com.acme.*.repositories" />

</beans>

This configuration causes the base packages to be scanned for interfaces that extend contain LDAP repositories and create Spring beans for each one found.

By default, the repositories get an autowired LdapTemplate Spring bean that is called ldapTemplate, so you only need to configure ldap-template-ref explicitly if you deviate from this convention.

Which is better, JavaConfig or XML? XML is how Spring was configured long ago. In today’s era of fast-growing Java, record types, annotations, and more, new projects typically use as much pure Java as possible. While there is no immediate plan to remove XML support, some of the newest features MAY not be available through XML.

Using the repositories element looks up Spring Data repositories as described in Creating Repository Instances.

Custom Namespace Attributes

Beyond the default attributes of the repositories element, the LDAP namespace offers additional attributes to let you gain more detailed control over the setup of the repositories:

Table 1. Custom LDAP-specific attributes of the repositories element

ldap-template-ref

Explicitly wire the LdapTemplate to be used with the repositories being detected by the repositories element. Usually used if multiple LdapTemplate beans are used within the application. If not configured, Spring Data automatically looks up the LdapTemplate bean with the name ldapTemplate in the ApplicationContext.
Spring Data LDAP requires a LdapMappingContext bean named ldapMappingContext to be present. If no such bean is defined, then Spring Data LDAP registers a default instance in the application context.