Directory (databases)
5515053
200337790
2008-03-23T17:57:20Z
Soumyasch
792477
make the dab a dablink
{{Unreferenced|date=April 2007}}
{{dablink|This article deals with the term '''directory''' with respect to a computer [[database]]. The term also commonly refers to a [[Directory (file systems)|folder]] in a computer [[file system]].}}
Generally, a '''directory''', as used in [[computing]] and [[telephony]], refers to a [[repository]] or [[database]] of information which is heavily optimised for reading, under the assumption that data updates are very rare compared to data reads. Commonly, a directory supports search and browsing in addition to simple lookups.
A website which offer access to a categorized listing of other websites optimized for lookup, search, or browsing is a directory, a [[web directory]]. The [[Open Directory Project]] is an example of a web directory.
Directory technology is often used in [[White pages|white page]] applications and network information services.
[[WHOIS]] is a prominent example of directory service providing white pages.
The [[Domain Name System]] (DNS) is a prominent example of directory service providing a network information service. DNS is also an example of a [[Distributed computing|distributed]] [[hierarchical]] [[directory service]] that only has simple lookup capabilities.
The [[X.500]] and [[Lightweight Directory Access Protocol|LDAP]] directory services are examples of general-purpose distributed hierarchical [[object-oriented]] directory technologies. Both offer complex searching and browsing capabilities and are used for white pages, network information services, [[public key infrastructure]], and a wide range of other applications.
==See also==
*[[Database]]
*[[Directory service]]
*[[Web directory]]
*[[RSS directory]]
[[Category:Databases]]