The purpose of this standard is to define a C programming language binding for the Application Program Interface (API) to Directory Services that is defined in IEEE Std 1224.2-1993. A directory is a distributed collection of information, which programs can access in order to make queries or updates. IEEE Std 1224.2-1993 defines, in programming language independent terms, an API to directory services. This API is known as the Directory Services API (DS API). The DS API is intended to be used to provide access to a range of directory services that are instances of a common abstract model. That model is defined in the 1988 CCITT X.500 Series recommendations and ISO/IEC 9594:1990. IEEE Std 1224.2-1993 prescribes how the DS API is to be used to access the particular directory service defined in ISO/IEC 9594:1990 and indicates how it may be used to access other directory services that conform to the same abstract model. Nothing in IEEE Std 1224.2-1993 or in this standard requires that the implementation of the interface or the Directory itself actually make use of the Directory Access Protocol (DAP), the Directory System Protocol (DSP), or other parts of the model, just so long as it provides the defined service. The interface is designed for operational interactions with a directory, rather than for management interactions such as knowledge management or schema management. Also, security features are not generally visible in the interface in order to permit flexibility in security policies. It is intended that an application program should be able to use the interface to access a single directory service or to access several directory services at the same time.