Searching

Introduction

Using the Adldap2 query builder makes building LDAP queries feel effortless.

It allows you to generate LDAP filters using a fluent and convenient interface, similar to Eloquent in Laravel.

Note: The Adldap2 query builder escapes all fields & values given to its where() methods. There is no need to clean or escape strings before passing them into the query builder.

Creating a new Query

To create a new search query, call the search() method on your connection provider instance:

$search = $provider->search();

Or you can chain all your methods if you'd prefer:

$results = $provider->search()->where('cn', '=', 'John Doe')->get();

Selects

Note: Fields are case in-sensitive. For example, you can insert CN, cn or cN, they will return the same result.

Selecting attributes

Selecting only the LDAP attributes you need will increase the speed of your queries.

// Passing in an array of attributes
$search->select(['cn', 'samaccountname', 'telephone', 'mail']);

// Passing in each attribute as an argument
$search->select('cn', 'samaccountname', 'telephone', 'mail');

Executing Searches

Finding a specific record

If you're trying to find a single record, but not sure what the record might be, use the find() method:

$record = $search->find('John Doe');

if ($record) {
    // Record was found!    
} else {
    // Hmm, looks like we couldn't find anything...
}

Note: Using the find() method will search for LDAP records using ANR (ambiguous name resolution) and return the first result.

Since ActiveDirectory is the only LDAP distribution that supports ANR, an equivalent query will be created for other LDAP distributions that are not compatible.

For a more fine-tuned search, use the findBy() method below.

Finding a record (or failing)

If you'd like to try and find a single record and throw an exception when it hasn't been found, use the findOrFail() method:

try {

    $record = $search->findOrFail('John Doe');

} catch (Adldap\Models\ModelNotFoundException $e) {
    // Record wasn't found!
}

Finding a record by a specific attribute

If you're looking for a single record with a specific attribute, use the findBy() method:

// We're looking for a record with the 'samaccountname' of 'jdoe'.
$record = $search->findBy('samaccountname', 'jdoe');

Finding a record by a specific attribute (or failing)

If you'd like to try and find a single record by a specific attribute and throw an exception when it cannot be found, use the findByOrFail() method:

try {

    $record = $search->findByOrFail('samaccountname', 'jdoe');

} catch (Adldap\Models\ModelNotFoundException $e) {
    // Record wasn't found!
}

Finding a record by its distinguished name

If you're looking for a single record with a specific DN, use the findByDn() method:

$record = $search->findByDn('cn=John Doe,dc=corp,dc=org');

Finding a record by its distinguished name (or failing)

If you'd like to try and find a single record by a specific DN and throw an exception when it hasn't been found, use the findByDnOrFail() method:

try {

    $record = $search->findByDnOrFail('cn=John Doe,dc=corp,dc=org');

} catch (Adldap\Models\ModelNotFoundException $e) {
    // Record wasn't found!
}

Retrieving results

To get the results from a search, simply call the get() method:

$results = $search->select(['cn', 'samaccountname'])->get();

Note: Executed searches via the get() method will return them inside an Illuminate\Support\Collection instance (a glorified array), with allows you to utilize some extremely handy methods.

Executed searches via the first() method will return a model instance only.

Retrieving the first record

To retrieve the first record of a search, call the first() method:

$record = $search->first();

Note: If you are using sortBy(), calling first() will not take this into account. Sorts are performed after retrieving query results. If you would like the first record of a sorted result set, call first() on a Collection of returned models.

Retrieving the first record (or failing)

To retrieve the first record of a search or throw an exception when one isn't found, call the firstOrFail() method:

try {

    $record = $search->firstOrFail();

} catch (Adldap\Models\ModelNotFoundException $e) {
    // Record wasn't found!
}

Limit

To limit the results records returned from your LDAP server and increase the speed of your queries, you can use the limit() method:

// This will only return 5 records that contain the name of 'John':
$records = $search->where('cn', 'contains', 'John')->limit(5)->get();

Wheres

To perform a where clause on the search object, use the where() function:

$search->where('cn', '=', 'John Doe');

This query would look for a record with the common name of 'John Doe' and return the results.

We can also perform a 'where equals' without including the operator:

$search->whereEquals('cn', 'John Doe');

We can also supply an array of key - value pairs to quickly add multiple wheres:

$wheres = [
    'cn' => 'John Doe',
    'samaccountname' => 'jdoe',
];

$search->where($wheres);

Or, if you require conditionals, you can quickly add multiple wheres with nested arrays:

$search->where([
   ['cn', '=', 'John Doe'],
   ['manager', '!', 'Suzy Doe'],
]);

Where Starts With

We could also perform a search for all objects beginning with the common name of 'John' using the starts_with operator:

$results = $provider->search()->where('cn', 'starts_with', 'John')->get();

// Or use the method whereStartsWith($attribute, $value):

$results = $provider->search()->whereStartsWith('cn', 'John')->get();

Where Ends With

We can also search for all objects that end with the common name of Doe using the ends_with operator:

$results = $provider->search()->where('cn', 'ends_with', 'Doe')->get();

// Or use the method whereEndsWith($attribute, $value):

$results = $provider->search()->whereEndsWith('cn', 'Doe')->get();

Where Between

To search for records between two values, use the whereBetween method.

For the example below, we'll retrieve all users who were created between two dates:

$from = (new DateTime('October 1st 2016'))->format('YmdHis.0\Z');
$to = (new DateTime('January 1st 2017'))->format('YmdHis.0\Z');

$users = $provider->search()
    ->users()
    ->whereBetween('whencreated', [$from, $to])
    ->get();

Where Contains

We can also search for all objects with a common name that contains John Doe using the contains operator:

$results = $provider->search()->where('cn', 'contains', 'John Doe')->get();

// Or use the method whereContains($attribute, $value):

$results = $provider->search()->whereContains('cn', 'John Doe')->get();

Where Not Contains

You can use a 'where not contains' to perform the inverse of a 'where contains':

$results = $provider->search()->where('cn', 'not_contains', 'John Doe')->get();

// Or use the method whereNotContains($attribute, $value):

$results = $provider->search()->whereNotContains('cn', 'John Doe');

Where Has

Or we can retrieve all objects that have a common name attribute using the wildcard operator (*):

$results = $provider->search()->where('cn', '*')->get();

// Or use the method whereHas($field):

$results = $provider->search()->whereHas('cn')->get();

This type of filter syntax allows you to clearly see what your searching for.

Where Not Has

You can use a 'where not has' to perform the inverse of a 'where has':

$results = $provider->search->where('cn', '!*')->get();

// Or use the method whereNotHas($field):

$results = $provider->search()->whereNotHas($field)->get();

Or Wheres

To perform an or where clause on the search object, use the orWhere() method. However, please be aware this function performs differently than it would on a database.

For example:

$results = $search
            ->where('cn', '=', 'John Doe')
            ->orWhere('cn', '=', 'Suzy Doe')
            ->get();

This query would return no results. Since we're already defining that the common name (cn) must equal John Doe, applying the orWhere() does not amount to 'Look for an object with the common name as "John Doe" OR "Suzy Doe"'. This query would actually amount to 'Look for an object with the common name that equals "John Doe" OR "Suzy Doe"

To solve the above problem, we would use orWhere() for both fields. For example:

$results = $search
        ->orWhere('cn', '=', 'John Doe')
        ->orWhere('cn', '=', 'Suzy Doe')
        ->get();

Now, we'll retrieve both John and Suzy's LDAP records, because the common name can equal either.

Note: You can also use all where methods as an or where, for example: orWhereHas(), orWhereContains(), orWhereStartsWith(), orWhereEndsWith()

Dynamic Wheres

To perform a dynamic where, simply suffix a where with the field you're looking for.

This feature was directly ported from Laravel's Eloquent.

Here's an example:

// This query:
$result = $search->where('cn', '=', 'John Doe')->first();

// Can be converted to:
$result = $search->whereCn('John Doe')->first();

You can perform this on any attribute:

$result = $search->whereTelephonenumber('555-555-5555')->first();

You can also chain them:

$result = $search
    ->whereTelephonenumber('555-555-5555')
    ->whereGivenname('John Doe')
    ->whereSn('Doe')
    ->first();

You can even perform multiple dynamic wheres by separating your fields by an And:

// This would perform a search for a user with the
// first name of 'John' and last name of 'Doe'.
$result = $search->whereGivennameAndSn('John', 'Doe')->first();

Nested Filters

By default, the Adldap2 query builder automatically wraps your queries in and / or filters for you. However, if any further complexity is required, nested filters allow you to construct any query fluently and easily.

andFilter

The andFilter method accepts a closure which allows you to construct a query inside of an and LDAP filter:

$query = $provider->search()->newQuery();

// Creates the filter: (&(givenname=John)(sn=Doe))
$results = $query->andFilter(function (Adldap\Query\Builder $q) {

    $q->where('givenname', '=', 'John')
      ->where('sn', '=', 'Doe');

})->get();

The above query would return records that contain the first name John and the last name Doe.

orFilter

The orFilter method accepts a closure which allows you to construct a query inside of an or LDAP filter:

$query = $provider->search()->newQuery();


// Creates the filter: (|(givenname=John)(sn=Doe))
$results = $query->orFilter(function (Adldap\Query\Builder $q) {

    $q->where('givenname', '=', 'John')
      ->where('sn', '=', 'Doe');

})->get();

The above query would return records that contain the first name John or the last name Doe.

notFilter

The notFilter method accepts a closure which allows you to construct a query inside a not LDAP filter:

$query = $provider->search()->newQuery();

// Creates the filter: (!(givenname=John)(sn=Doe))
$results = $query->notFilter(function (Adldap\Query\Builder $q) {

    $q->where('givenname', '=', 'John')
      ->where('sn', '=', 'Doe');

})->get();

The above query would return records that do not contain the first name John or the last name Doe.

Complex Nesting

The above methods andFilter / orFilter can be chained together and nested as many times as you'd like for larger complex queries:

$query = $provider->search()->newQuery();

$query = $query->orFilter(function (Adldap\Query\Builder $q) {
    $q->where('givenname', '=', 'John')->where('sn', '=', 'Doe');
})->andFilter(function (Adldap\Query\Builder $q) {
    $q->where('department', '=', 'Accounting')->where('title', '=', 'Manager');
})->getUnescapedQuery();

echo $query; // Returns '(&(|(givenname=John)(sn=Doe))(&(department=Accounting)(title=Manager)))'

Raw Filters

Note: Raw filters are not escaped. Do not accept user input into the raw filter method.

Sometimes you might just want to add a raw filter without using the query builder. You can do so by using the rawFilter() method:

$filter = '(samaccountname=jdoe)';

$results = $search->rawFilter($filter)->get();

// Or use an array
$filters = [
    '(samaccountname=jdoe)',
    '(surname=Doe)',
];

$results = $search->rawFilter($filters)->get();

// Or use multiple arguments
$results = $search->rawFilter($filters[0], $filters[1])->get();

// Multiple raw filters will be automatically wrapped into an `and` filter:
$query = $search->getUnescapedQuery();

echo $query; // Returns (&(samaccountname=jdoe)(surname=Doe))

Sorting

Sorting is really useful when your displaying tabular LDAP results. You can easily perform sorts on any LDAP attribute by using the sortBy() method:

$results = $search->whereHas('cn')->sortBy('cn', 'asc')->get();

You can also sort paginated results:

$results = $search->whereHas('cn')->sortBy('cn', 'asc')->paginate(25);

Note: Sorting occurs after results are returned. This is due to PHP not having the functionality of sorting records on the server side before they are returned.

Paginating

Paginating your search results will allow you to return more results than your LDAP cap (usually 1000) and display your results in pages.

Note: Calling paginate() will retrieve all records from your LDAP server for the current query.

This does not operate the same way pagination occurs in a database. Pagination of an LDAP query simply allows you to return a larger result set than your LDAP servers configured maximum (usually 1000).

The pagination object is simply a collection that allows you to iterate through all the resulting records easily and intuitively.

To perform this, call the paginate() method instead of the get() method:

$recordsPerPage = 50;

$currentPage = $_GET['page'];

// This would retrieve all records from your LDAP server inside a new Adldap\Objects\Paginator instance.
$paginator = $search->paginate($recordsPerPage, $currentPage);

// Returns total number of pages, int
$paginator->getPages();

// Returns current page number, int
$paginator->getCurrentPage();

// Returns the amount of entries allowed per page, int
$paginator->getPerPage();

// Returns all of the results in the entire paginated result
$paginator->getResults();

// Returns the total amount of retrieved entries, int
$paginator->count();

// Iterate over the results like normal
foreach($paginator as $result)
{
    echo $result->getCommonName();
}

Scopes

Search scopes allow you to easily retrieve common models of a particular 'scope'.

Each scope simply applies the required filters to the search object that (when executed) will only return the relevant models.

Here is a list of all available scopes:

// Retrieve all users (Adldap\Models\User).
$results = $search->users()->get();

// Retrieve all printers (Adldap\Models\Printer).
$results = $search->printers()->get();

// Retrieve all organizational units (Adldap\Models\OrganizationalUnit).
$results = $search->ous()->get();

// Retrieve all organizational units (Adldap\Models\OrganizationalUnit).
$results = $search->organizations()->get();

// Retrieve all groups (Adldap\Models\Group).
$results = $search->groups()->get();

// Retrieve all containers (Adldap\Models\Container).
$results = $search->containers()->get();

// Retrieve all contacts (Adldap\Models\Contact).
$results = $search->contacts()->get();

// Retrieve all computers (Adldap\Models\Computer).
$results = $search->computers()->get();

Base DN

To set the base DN of your search you can use one of two methods:

// Using the `in()` method:
$results = $provider->search()->in('ou=Accounting,dc=acme,dc=org')->get();

// Using the `setDn()` method:
$results = $provider->search()->setDn('ou=Accounting,dc=acme,dc=org')->get();

// You can also include `in()` with the scope
$results = $provider->search()->organizations()->in('ou=Accounting,dc=acme,dc=org')->get()

Either option will return the same results. Use which ever method you prefer to be more readable.

Search Options

Recursive

By default, all searches performed are recursive.

If you'd like to disable recursive search and perform a single level search, use the listing() method:

$result = $provider->search()->listing()->get();

This would perform an ldap_listing() instead of an ldap_search().

Read

If you'd like to perform a read instead of a listing or a recursive search, use the read() method:

$result = $provider->search()->read()->where('objectClass', '*')->get();

This would perform an ldap_read() instead of an ldap_listing() or an ldap_search().

Note: Performing a read() will always return one record in your result.

Raw

If you'd like to retrieve the raw LDAP results, use the raw() method:

$rawResults = $provider->search()->raw()->where('cn', '=', 'John Doe')->get();

var_dump($rawResults); // Returns an array

Retrieving the ran query

If you'd like to retrieve the current query to save or run it at another time, use the getQuery() method on the query builder.

This will return the escaped filter.

$query = $provider->search()->where('cn', '=', 'John Doe')->getQuery();

echo $query; // Returns '(cn=\4a\6f\68\6e\20\44\6f\65)'

To retrieve the unescaped filter, call the getUnescapedQuery() method:

$query = $provider->search()->where('cn', '=', 'John Doe')->getUnescapedQuery();

echo $query; // Returns '(cn=John Doe)'

Now that you know how to search your directory, lets move onto creating / modifying LDAP records.