METHOD OF MAINTAINING DATA INTEGRITY IN A NETWORK DATABASE

A network database. The network database is arranged in a plurality of domains in a logical hierarchy. Each domain of the hierarchy represents a body of information associated with a logically related group of users or related group of computers. A relative naming scheme is implemented in which a domain stores the names of only its parent domain and child domains. This permits reconfiguration of the network to be accomplished without changing the database structure. Each domain stores information in a hierarchical structure known as a "directory." Each directory consists of a list of zero or more "properties," each having an associated name and ordered list of values.