LDAP\_DELETE(3) Library Functions Manual LDAP\_DELETE(3)

# [NAME](#NAME)

ldap\_delete, ldap\_delete\_s, ldap\_delete\_ext, ldap\_delete\_ext\_s - Perform an LDAP delete operation.

# [LIBRARY](#LIBRARY)

OpenLDAP LDAP (libldap, -lldap)

# [SYNOPSIS](#SYNOPSIS)

```
#include <ldap.h>
```

```
int ldap_delete_s(ld, dn)
LDAP *ld;
char *dn;
```

```
int ldap_delete(ld, dn)
LDAP *ld;
char *dn;
```

```
int ldap_delete_ext(ld, dn, serverctrls, clientctrls, msgidp)
LDAP *ld;
char *dn;
LDAPControl **serverctrls, **clientctrls;
int *msgidp;
```

```
int ldap_delete_ext_s(ld, dn, serverctrls, clientctrls)
LDAP *ld;
char *dn;
LDAPControl **serverctrls, **clientctrls;
```

# [DESCRIPTION](#DESCRIPTION)

The **ldap\_delete\_s()** routine is used to perform an LDAP delete operation synchronously. It takes *dn*, the DN of the entry to be deleted. It returns an LDAP error code, indicating the success or failure of the operation.

The **ldap\_delete()** routine is used to perform an LDAP delete operation asynchronously. It takes the same parameters as **ldap\_delete\_s(),** but returns the message id of the request it initiated. The result of the delete can be obtained by a subsequent call to [**ldap\_result**(3)](/man/enterprise-packages/openldap-2.6/ldap_result.3).

The **ldap\_delete\_ext()** routine allows server and client controls to be specified to extend the delete request. This routine is asynchronous like ldap\_delete(), but its return value is an LDAP error code. It stores the message id of the request in the integer pointed to by msgidp.

The **ldap\_delete\_ext\_s()** routine is the synchronous version of **ldap\_delete\_ext().** It also returns an LDAP error code indicating success or failure of the operation.

# [ERRORS](#ERRORS)

**ldap\_delete\_s()** returns an LDAP error code which can be interpreted by calling one of [**ldap\_perror**(3)](/man/enterprise-packages/openldap-2.6/ldap_perror.3) and friends. **ldap\_delete()** returns -1 if something went wrong initiating the request. It returns the non-negative message id of the request if things went ok.

**ldap\_delete\_ext()** and **ldap\_delete\_ext\_s()** return some Non-zero value if something went wrong initiating the request, else return 0.

# [SEE ALSO](#SEE_ALSO)

[**ldap**(3)](/man/enterprise-packages/openldap-2.6/ldap.3), [**ldap\_error**(3)](/man/enterprise-packages/openldap-2.6/ldap_error.3)

# [ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS](#ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS)

**OpenLDAP Software** is developed and maintained by The OpenLDAP Project &lt;http://www.openldap.org/&gt;. **OpenLDAP Software** is derived from the University of Michigan LDAP 3.3 Release.

2026/10/21 OpenLDAP 2.6.16

---

Document: ldap_delete_ext(3) from openldap-2.6 2.6.16-r2 (Chainguard OS)
Source: https://git.openldap.org/openldap/openldap.git