Microsoft® PowerShell, VBScript and JScript® Bible

Chapter 16. Using Schema to Master ADSI

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Understanding ADSI schema, collections, and containers

• Managing schema class objects

• Viewing property values and ranges

• Viewing automation data types

One of the most important features of ADSI is its extensibility. ADSI will change and evolve over time, and to adapt to these changes, you'll need to know how to navigate the schema. Schemas provide the basic structures that you can script. By examining the schema, you can determine the exact feature set a particular computer supports. You can also determine the acceptable parameters for properties. These elements together provide everything you need to master the provider features and to get detailed information on objects and their properties. As you study this chapter, keep in mind that Appendix B has detailed information on all of the interfaces that this chapter examines.

Exploring ADSI Schema

In ADSI, you manage groups of objects through collections. You'll encounter collections in a wide variety of circumstances. For example, user sessions are represented through a collection and you use this collection to examine individual Session objects. You also manage services, print jobs, and open resources through collections.

Collections are implemented through the IADsCollection interface. This interface has methods for obtaining, adding, and removing elements. ADSI defines two special types of collections:

• Containers: Containers contain other objects and are implemented with the IADsContainer ...