Relevance of the X.500 Directory to CSCW Applications

Abstract

In 1Q88 the standardization bodies ISO and CCnT released the first international standard of a distributed Directory Service [8]. The purpose of the Directory as it is described by the standard is to supply a global nam.eserver and an application independent management and infonnation service. But these applications are not exhausting the possibilities of a Directory usage. It is the intention of this paper to present the possibilities and chances the Directory offers to applications in the CSCW area. Our investigation focuses on CSCW models and applications that support and coordinate communications in groups [15]. First the paper identifies ami analyses components which most ofthese applications have in common. For the analysis we introduce the classification of activity oriented models and conversation oriented models. Then, after a brief introduction into the X.50D Directory Service, it is shown in which way the identified components can be represented by the Directory Service. The paper concludes with a discussion of desirable improvements on the Directory Service.