prathe-net-ldap 0.2.20110317223538

data/lib/net/ldap/filter.rb

@@ -0,0 +1,759 @@
+# -*- ruby encoding: utf-8 -*-
+
+##
+# Class Net::LDAP::Filter is used to constrain LDAP searches. An object of
+# this class is passed to Net::LDAP#search in the parameter :filter.
+#
+# Net::LDAP::Filter supports the complete set of search filters available in
+# LDAP, including conjunction, disjunction and negation (AND, OR, and NOT).
+# This class supplants the (infamous) RFC 2254 standard notation for
+# specifying LDAP search filters.
+#--
+# NOTE: This wording needs to change as we will be supporting LDAPv3 search
+# filter strings (RFC 4515).
+#++
+#
+# Here's how to code the familiar "objectclass is present" filter:
+#  f = Net::LDAP::Filter.present("objectclass")
+#
+# The object returned by this code can be passed directly to the
+# <tt>:filter</tt> parameter of Net::LDAP#search.
+#
+# See the individual class and instance methods below for more examples.
+class Net::LDAP::Filter
+  ##
+  # Known filter types.
+  FilterTypes = [ :ne, :eq, :ge, :le, :and, :or, :not, :ex ]
+
+  def initialize(op, left, right) #:nodoc:
+    unless FilterTypes.include?(op)
+      raise Net::LDAP::LdapError, "Invalid or unsupported operator #{op.inspect} in LDAP Filter."
+    end
+    @op = op
+    @left = left
+    @right = right
+  end
+
+  class << self
+    # We don't want filters created except using our custom constructors.
+    private :new
+
+    ##
+    # Creates a Filter object indicating that the value of a particular
+    # attribute must either be present or match a particular string.
+    #
+    # Specifying that an attribute is 'present' means only directory entries
+    # which contain a value for the particular attribute will be selected by
+    # the filter. This is useful in case of optional attributes such as
+    # <tt>mail.</tt> Presence is indicated by giving the value "*" in the
+    # second parameter to #eq. This example selects only entries that have
+    # one or more values for <tt>sAMAccountName:</tt>
+    #
+    #   f = Net::LDAP::Filter.eq("sAMAccountName", "*")
+    #
+    # To match a particular range of values, pass a string as the second
+    # parameter to #eq. The string may contain one or more "*" characters as
+    # wildcards: these match zero or more occurrences of any character. Full
+    # regular-expressions are <i>not</i> supported due to limitations in the
+    # underlying LDAP protocol. This example selects any entry with a
+    # <tt>mail</tt> value containing the substring "anderson":
+    #
+    #   f = Net::LDAP::Filter.eq("mail", "*anderson*")
+    #
+    # This filter does not perform any escaping
+    def eq(attribute, value)
+      new(:eq, attribute, value)
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Creates a Filter object indicating extensible comparison. This Filter
+    # object is currently considered EXPERIMENTAL.
+    #
+    #   sample_attributes = ['cn:fr', 'cn:fr.eq',
+    #     'cn:1.3.6.1.4.1.42.2.27.9.4.49.1.3', 'cn:dn:fr', 'cn:dn:fr.eq']
+    #   attr = sample_attributes.first # Pick an extensible attribute
+    #   value = 'roberts'
+    #
+    #   filter = "#{attr}:=#{value}" # Basic String Filter
+    #   filter = Net::LDAP::Filter.ex(attr, value) # Net::LDAP::Filter
+    #
+    #   # Perform a search with the Extensible Match Filter
+    #   Net::LDAP.search(:filter => filter)
+    #--
+    # The LDIF required to support the above examples on the OpenDS LDAP
+    # server:
+    #
+    #   version: 1
+    #
+    #   dn: dc=example,dc=com
+    #   objectClass: domain
+    #   objectClass: top
+    #   dc: example
+    #
+    #   dn: ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
+    #   objectClass: organizationalUnit
+    #   objectClass: top
+    #   ou: People
+    #
+    #   dn: uid=1,ou=People,dc=example,dc=com
+    #   objectClass: person
+    #   objectClass: organizationalPerson
+    #   objectClass: inetOrgPerson
+    #   objectClass: top
+    #   cn:: csO0YsOpcnRz
+    #   sn:: YsO0YiByw7Riw6lydHM=
+    #   givenName:: YsO0Yg==
+    #   uid: 1
+    #
+    # =Refs:
+    # * http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2251.txt
+    # * http://www.novell.com/documentation/edir88/edir88/?page=/documentation/edir88/edir88/data/agazepd.html
+    # * https://docs.opends.org/2.0/page/SearchingUsingInternationalCollationRules
+    #++
+    def ex(attribute, value)
+      new(:ex, attribute, value)
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Creates a Filter object indicating that a particular attribute value
+    # is either not present or does not match a particular string; see
+    # Filter::eq for more information.
+    #
+    # This filter does not perform any escaping
+    def ne(attribute, value)
+      new(:ne, attribute, value)
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Creates a Filter object indicating that the value of a particular
+    # attribute must match a particular string. The attribute value is
+    # escaped, so the "*" character is interpreted literally.
+    def equals(attribute, value)
+      new(:eq, attribute, escape(value))
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Creates a Filter object indicating that the value of a particular
+    # attribute must begin with a particular string. The attribute value is
+    # escaped, so the "*" character is interpreted literally.
+    def begins(attribute, value)
+      new(:eq, attribute, escape(value) + "*")
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Creates a Filter object indicating that the value of a particular
+    # attribute must end with a particular string. The attribute value is
+    # escaped, so the "*" character is interpreted literally.
+    def ends(attribute, value)
+      new(:eq, attribute, "*" + escape(value))
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Creates a Filter object indicating that the value of a particular
+    # attribute must contain a particular string. The attribute value is
+    # escaped, so the "*" character is interpreted literally.
+    def contains(attribute, value)
+      new(:eq, attribute, "*" + escape(value) + "*")
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Creates a Filter object indicating that a particular attribute value
+    # is greater than or equal to the specified value.
+    def ge(attribute, value)
+      new(:ge, attribute, value)
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Creates a Filter object indicating that a particular attribute value
+    # is less than or equal to the specified value.
+    def le(attribute, value)
+      new(:le, attribute, value)
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Joins two or more filters so that all conditions must be true. Calling
+    # <tt>Filter.join(left, right)</tt> is the same as <tt>left &
+    # right</tt>.
+    #
+    #   # Selects only entries that have an <tt>objectclass</tt> attribute.
+    #   x = Net::LDAP::Filter.present("objectclass")
+    #   # Selects only entries that have a <tt>mail</tt> attribute that begins
+    #   # with "George".
+    #   y = Net::LDAP::Filter.eq("mail", "George*")
+    #   # Selects only entries that meet both conditions above.
+    #   z = Net::LDAP::Filter.join(x, y)
+    def join(left, right)
+      new(:and, left, right)
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Creates a disjoint comparison between two or more filters. Selects
+    # entries where either the left or right side are true. Calling
+    # <tt>Filter.intersect(left, right)</tt> is the same as <tt>left |
+    # right</tt>.
+    #
+    #   # Selects only entries that have an <tt>objectclass</tt> attribute.
+    #   x = Net::LDAP::Filter.present("objectclass")
+    #   # Selects only entries that have a <tt>mail</tt> attribute that begins
+    #   # with "George".
+    #   y = Net::LDAP::Filter.eq("mail", "George*")
+    #   # Selects only entries that meet either condition above.
+    #   z = x | y
+    def intersect(left, right)
+      new(:or, left, right)
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Negates a filter. Calling <tt>Fitler.negate(filter)</tt> i s the same
+    # as <tt>~filter</tt>.
+    #
+    #   # Selects only entries that do not have an <tt>objectclass</tt>
+    #   # attribute.
+    #   x = ~Net::LDAP::Filter.present("objectclass")
+    def negate(filter)
+      new(:not, filter, nil)
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # This is a synonym for #eq(attribute, "*"). Also known as #present and
+    # #pres.
+    def present?(attribute)
+      eq(attribute, "*")
+    end
+    alias_method :present, :present?
+    alias_method :pres, :present?
+
+    # http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4515 lists these exceptions from UTF1
+    # charset for filters. All of the following must be escaped in any normal
+    # string using a single backslash ('\') as escape. 
+    #
+    ESCAPES = {
+      "\0" => '00', # NUL            = %x00 ; null character
+      '*'  => '2A', # ASTERISK       = %x2A ; asterisk ("*")
+      '('  => '28', # LPARENS        = %x28 ; left parenthesis ("(")
+      ')'  => '29', # RPARENS        = %x29 ; right parenthesis (")")
+      '\\' => '5C', # ESC            = %x5C ; esc (or backslash) ("\")
+    }
+    # Compiled character class regexp using the keys from the above hash. 
+    ESCAPE_RE = Regexp.new(
+      "[" + 
+      ESCAPES.keys.map { |e| Regexp.escape(e) }.join + 
+      "]")
+
+    ##
+    # Escape a string for use in an LDAP filter
+    def escape(string)
+      string.gsub(ESCAPE_RE) { |char| "\\" + ESCAPES[char] }
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Converts an LDAP search filter in BER format to an Net::LDAP::Filter
+    # object. The incoming BER object most likely came to us by parsing an
+    # LDAP searchRequest PDU. See also the comments under #to_ber, including
+    # the grammar snippet from the RFC.
+    #--
+    # We're hardcoding the BER constants from the RFC. These should be
+    # broken out insto constants.
+    def parse_ber(ber)
+      case ber.ber_identifier
+      when 0xa0 # context-specific constructed 0, "and"
+        ber.map { |b| parse_ber(b) }.inject { |memo, obj| memo & obj }
+      when 0xa1 # context-specific constructed 1, "or"
+        ber.map { |b| parse_ber(b) }.inject { |memo, obj| memo | obj }
+      when 0xa2 # context-specific constructed 2, "not"
+        ~parse_ber(ber.first)
+      when 0xa3 # context-specific constructed 3, "equalityMatch"
+        if ber.last == "*"
+        else
+          eq(ber.first, ber.last)
+        end
+      when 0xa4 # context-specific constructed 4, "substring"
+        str = ""
+        final = false
+        ber.last.each { |b|
+          case b.ber_identifier
+          when 0x80 # context-specific primitive 0, SubstringFilter "initial"
+            raise Net::LDAP::LdapError, "Unrecognized substring filter; bad initial value." if str.length > 0
+            str += b
+          when 0x81 # context-specific primitive 0, SubstringFilter "any"
+            str += "*#{b}"
+          when 0x82 # context-specific primitive 0, SubstringFilter "final"
+            str += "*#{b}"
+            final = true
+          end
+        }
+        str += "*" unless final
+        eq(ber.first.to_s, str)
+      when 0xa5 # context-specific constructed 5, "greaterOrEqual"
+        ge(ber.first.to_s, ber.last.to_s)
+      when 0xa6 # context-specific constructed 6, "lessOrEqual"
+        le(ber.first.to_s, ber.last.to_s)
+      when 0x87 # context-specific primitive 7, "present"
+        # call to_s to get rid of the BER-identifiedness of the incoming string.
+        present?(ber.to_s)
+      when 0xa9 # context-specific constructed 9, "extensible comparison"
+        raise Net::LDAP::LdapError, "Invalid extensible search filter, should be at least two elements" if ber.size<2
+        
+        # Reassembles the extensible filter parts 
+        # (["sn", "2.4.6.8.10", "Barbara Jones", '1'])
+        type = value = dn = rule = nil
+        ber.each do |element|
+          case element.ber_identifier
+            when 0x81 then rule=element
+            when 0x82 then type=element
+            when 0x83 then value=element
+            when 0x84 then dn='dn'
+          end
+        end
+
+        attribute = ''
+        attribute << type if type
+        attribute << ":#{dn}" if dn
+        attribute << ":#{rule}" if rule
+        
+        ex(attribute, value)
+      else
+        raise Net::LDAP::LdapError, "Invalid BER tag-value (#{ber.ber_identifier}) in search filter."
+      end
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Converts an LDAP filter-string (in the prefix syntax specified in RFC-2254)
+    # to a Net::LDAP::Filter.
+    def construct(ldap_filter_string)
+      FilterParser.parse(ldap_filter_string)
+    end
+    alias_method :from_rfc2254, :construct
+    alias_method :from_rfc4515, :construct
+
+    ##
+    # Convert an RFC-1777 LDAP/BER "Filter" object to a Net::LDAP::Filter
+    # object.
+    #--
+    # TODO, we're hardcoding the RFC-1777 BER-encodings of the various
+    # filter types. Could pull them out into a constant.
+    #++
+    def parse_ldap_filter(obj)
+      case obj.ber_identifier
+      when 0x87 # present. context-specific primitive 7.
+        eq(obj.to_s, "*")
+      when 0xa3 # equalityMatch. context-specific constructed 3.
+        eq(obj[0], obj[1])
+      else
+        raise Net::LDAP::LdapError, "Unknown LDAP search-filter type: #{obj.ber_identifier}"
+      end
+    end
+  end
+
+  ##
+  # Joins two or more filters so that all conditions must be true.
+  #
+  #   # Selects only entries that have an <tt>objectclass</tt> attribute.
+  #   x = Net::LDAP::Filter.present("objectclass")
+  #   # Selects only entries that have a <tt>mail</tt> attribute that begins
+  #   # with "George".
+  #   y = Net::LDAP::Filter.eq("mail", "George*")
+  #   # Selects only entries that meet both conditions above.
+  #   z = x & y
+  def &(filter)
+    self.class.join(self, filter)
+  end
+
+  ##
+  # Creates a disjoint comparison between two or more filters. Selects
+  # entries where either the left or right side are true.
+  #
+  #   # Selects only entries that have an <tt>objectclass</tt> attribute.
+  #   x = Net::LDAP::Filter.present("objectclass")
+  #   # Selects only entries that have a <tt>mail</tt> attribute that begins
+  #   # with "George".
+  #   y = Net::LDAP::Filter.eq("mail", "George*")
+  #   # Selects only entries that meet either condition above.
+  #   z = x | y
+  def |(filter)
+    self.class.intersect(self, filter)
+  end
+
+  ##
+  # Negates a filter.
+  #
+  #   # Selects only entries that do not have an <tt>objectclass</tt>
+  #   # attribute.
+  #   x = ~Net::LDAP::Filter.present("objectclass")
+  def ~@
+    self.class.negate(self)
+  end
+
+  ##
+  # Equality operator for filters, useful primarily for constructing unit tests.
+  def ==(filter)
+    # 20100320 AZ: We need to come up with a better way of doing this. This
+    # is just nasty.
+    str = "[@op,@left,@right]"
+    self.instance_eval(str) == filter.instance_eval(str)
+  end
+
+  def to_raw_rfc2254
+    case @op
+    when :ne
+      "!(#{@left}=#{@right})"
+    when :eq
+      "#{@left}=#{@right}"
+    when :ex
+      "#{@left}:=#{@right}"
+    when :ge
+      "#{@left}>=#{@right}"
+    when :le
+      "#{@left}<=#{@right}"
+    when :and
+      "&(#{@left.to_raw_rfc2254})(#{@right.to_raw_rfc2254})"
+    when :or
+      "|(#{@left.to_raw_rfc2254})(#{@right.to_raw_rfc2254})"
+    when :not
+      "!(#{@left.to_raw_rfc2254})"
+    end
+  end
+
+  ##
+  # Converts the Filter object to an RFC 2254-compatible text format.
+  def to_rfc2254
+    "(#{to_raw_rfc2254})"
+  end
+
+  def to_s
+    to_rfc2254
+  end
+
+  ##
+  # Converts the filter to BER format.
+  #--
+  # Filter ::=
+  #     CHOICE {
+  #         and             [0] SET OF Filter,
+  #         or              [1] SET OF Filter,
+  #         not             [2] Filter,
+  #         equalityMatch   [3] AttributeValueAssertion,
+  #         substrings      [4] SubstringFilter,
+  #         greaterOrEqual  [5] AttributeValueAssertion,
+  #         lessOrEqual     [6] AttributeValueAssertion,
+  #         present         [7] AttributeType,
+  #         approxMatch     [8] AttributeValueAssertion,
+  #         extensibleMatch [9] MatchingRuleAssertion
+  #     }
+  #
+  # SubstringFilter ::=
+  #     SEQUENCE {
+  #         type               AttributeType,
+  #         SEQUENCE OF CHOICE {
+  #             initial        [0] LDAPString,
+  #             any            [1] LDAPString,
+  #             final          [2] LDAPString
+  #         }
+  #     }
+  #
+  # MatchingRuleAssertion ::=
+  #     SEQUENCE {
+  #       matchingRule    [1] MatchingRuleId OPTIONAL,
+  #       type            [2] AttributeDescription OPTIONAL,
+  #       matchValue      [3] AssertionValue,
+  #       dnAttributes    [4] BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE
+  #     }
+  #
+  # Matching Rule Suffixes
+  #     Less than   [.1] or .[lt]
+  #     Less than or equal to  [.2] or [.lte]
+  #     Equality  [.3] or  [.eq] (default)
+  #     Greater than or equal to  [.4] or [.gte]
+  #     Greater than  [.5] or [.gt]
+  #     Substring  [.6] or  [.sub]
+  #
+  #++
+  def to_ber
+    case @op
+    when :eq
+      if @right == "*" # presence test
+        @left.to_s.to_ber_contextspecific(7)
+      elsif @right =~ /[*]/ # substring
+        # Parsing substrings is a little tricky. We use String#split to
+        # break a string into substrings delimited by the * (star)
+        # character. But we also need to know whether there is a star at the
+        # head and tail of the string, so we use a limit parameter value of
+        # -1: "If negative, there is no limit to the number of fields
+        # returned, and trailing null fields are not suppressed."
+        #
+        # 20100320 AZ: This is much simpler than the previous verison. Also,
+        # unnecessary regex escaping has been removed.
+
+        ary = @right.split(/[*]+/, -1)
+
+        if ary.first.empty?
+          first = nil
+          ary.shift
+        else
+          first = ary.shift.to_ber_contextspecific(0)
+        end
+
+        if ary.last.empty?
+          last = nil
+          ary.pop
+        else
+          last = ary.pop.to_ber_contextspecific(2)
+        end
+
+        seq = ary.map { |e| e.to_ber_contextspecific(1) }
+        seq.unshift first if first
+        seq.push last if last
+
+        [@left.to_s.to_ber, seq.to_ber].to_ber_contextspecific(4)
+      else # equality
+        [@left.to_s.to_ber, unescape(@right).to_ber].to_ber_contextspecific(3)
+      end
+    when :ex
+      seq = []
+
+      unless @left =~ /^([-;\w]*)(:dn)?(:(\w+|[.\w]+))?$/
+        raise Net::LDAP::LdapError, "Bad attribute #{@left}"
+      end
+      type, dn, rule = $1, $2, $4
+
+      seq << rule.to_ber_contextspecific(1) unless rule.to_s.empty? # matchingRule
+      seq << type.to_ber_contextspecific(2) unless type.to_s.empty? # type
+      seq << unescape(@right).to_ber_contextspecific(3) # matchingValue
+      seq << "1".to_ber_contextspecific(4) unless dn.to_s.empty? # dnAttributes
+
+      seq.to_ber_contextspecific(9)
+    when :ge
+      [@left.to_s.to_ber, unescape(@right).to_ber].to_ber_contextspecific(5)
+    when :le
+      [@left.to_s.to_ber, unescape(@right).to_ber].to_ber_contextspecific(6)
+    when :ne
+      [self.class.eq(@left, @right).to_ber].to_ber_contextspecific(2)
+    when :and
+      ary = [@left.coalesce(:and), @right.coalesce(:and)].flatten
+      ary.map {|a| a.to_ber}.to_ber_contextspecific(0)
+    when :or
+      ary = [@left.coalesce(:or), @right.coalesce(:or)].flatten
+      ary.map {|a| a.to_ber}.to_ber_contextspecific(1)
+    when :not
+      [@left.to_ber].to_ber_contextspecific(2)
+    end
+  end
+
+  ##
+  # Perform filter operations against a user-supplied block. This is useful
+  # when implementing an LDAP directory server. The caller's block will be
+  # called with two arguments: first, a symbol denoting the "operation" of
+  # the filter; and second, an array consisting of arguments to the
+  # operation. The user-supplied block (which is MANDATORY) should perform
+  # some desired application-defined processing, and may return a
+  # locally-meaningful object that will appear as a parameter in the :and,
+  # :or and :not operations detailed below.
+  #
+  # A typical object to return from the user-supplied block is an array of
+  # Net::LDAP::Filter objects.
+  #
+  # These are the possible values that may be passed to the user-supplied
+  # block:
+  #   * :equalityMatch (the arguments will be an attribute name and a value
+  #     to be matched);
+  #   * :substrings (two arguments: an attribute name and a value containing
+  #     one or more "*" characters);
+  #   * :present (one argument: an attribute name);
+  #   * :greaterOrEqual (two arguments: an attribute name and a value to be
+  #     compared against);
+  #   * :lessOrEqual (two arguments: an attribute name and a value to be
+  #     compared against);
+  #   * :and (two or more arguments, each of which is an object returned
+  #     from a recursive call to #execute, with the same block;
+  #   * :or (two or more arguments, each of which is an object returned from
+  #     a recursive call to #execute, with the same block; and
+  #   * :not (one argument, which is an object returned from a recursive
+  #     call to #execute with the the same block.
+  def execute(&block)
+    case @op
+    when :eq
+      if @right == "*"
+        yield :present, @left
+      elsif @right.index '*'
+        yield :substrings, @left, @right
+      else
+        yield :equalityMatch, @left, @right
+      end
+    when :ge
+      yield :greaterOrEqual, @left, @right
+    when :le
+      yield :lessOrEqual, @left, @right
+    when :or, :and
+      yield @op, (@left.execute(&block)), (@right.execute(&block))
+    when :not
+      yield @op, (@left.execute(&block))
+    end || []
+  end
+
+  ##
+  # This is a private helper method for dealing with chains of ANDs and ORs
+  # that are longer than two. If BOTH of our branches are of the specified
+  # type of joining operator, then return both of them as an array (calling
+  # coalesce recursively). If they're not, then return an array consisting
+  # only of self.
+  def coalesce(operator) #:nodoc:
+    if @op == operator
+      [@left.coalesce(operator), @right.coalesce(operator)]
+    else
+      [self]
+    end
+  end
+
+  ##
+  #--
+  # We got a hash of attribute values.
+  # Do we match the attributes?
+  # Return T/F, and call match recursively as necessary.
+  #++
+  def match(entry)
+    case @op
+    when :eq
+      if @right == "*"
+        l = entry[@left] and l.length > 0
+      else
+        l = entry[@left] and l = Array(l) and l.index(@right)
+      end
+    else
+      raise Net::LDAP::LdapError, "Unknown filter type in match: #{@op}"
+    end
+  end
+
+  ##
+  # Converts escaped characters (e.g., "\\28") to unescaped characters
+  # ("(").
+  def unescape(right)
+    right.gsub(/\\([a-fA-F\d]{2})/) { [$1.hex].pack("U") }
+  end
+  private :unescape
+
+  ##
+  # Parses RFC 2254-style string representations of LDAP filters into Filter
+  # object hierarchies.
+  class FilterParser #:nodoc:
+    ##
+    # The constructed filter.
+    attr_reader :filter
+
+    class << self
+      private :new
+
+      ##
+      # Construct a filter tree from the provided string and return it.
+      def parse(ldap_filter_string)
+        new(ldap_filter_string).filter
+      end
+    end
+
+    def initialize(str)
+      require 'strscan' # Don't load strscan until we need it.
+      @filter = parse(StringScanner.new(str))
+      raise Net::LDAP::LdapError, "Invalid filter syntax." unless @filter
+    end
+
+    ##
+    # Parse the string contained in the StringScanner provided. Parsing
+    # tries to parse a standalone expression first. If that fails, it tries
+    # to parse a parenthesized expression.
+    def parse(scanner)
+      parse_filter_branch(scanner) or parse_paren_expression(scanner)
+    end
+    private :parse
+
+    ##
+    # Join ("&") and intersect ("|") operations are presented in branches.
+    # That is, the expression <tt>(&(test1)(test2)</tt> has two branches:
+    # test1 and test2. Each of these is parsed separately and then pushed
+    # into a branch array for filter merging using the parent operation.
+    #
+    # This method parses the branch text out into an array of filter
+    # objects.
+    def parse_branches(scanner)
+      branches = []
+      while branch = parse_paren_expression(scanner)
+        branches << branch
+      end
+      branches
+    end
+    private :parse_branches
+
+    ##
+    # Join ("&") and intersect ("|") operations are presented in branches.
+    # That is, the expression <tt>(&(test1)(test2)</tt> has two branches:
+    # test1 and test2. Each of these is parsed separately and then pushed
+    # into a branch array for filter merging using the parent operation.
+    #
+    # This method calls #parse_branches to generate the branch list and then
+    # merges them into a single Filter tree by calling the provided
+    # operation.
+    def merge_branches(op, scanner)
+      filter = nil
+      branches = parse_branches(scanner)
+
+      if branches.size >= 1
+        filter = branches.shift
+        while not branches.empty?
+          filter = filter.__send__(op, branches.shift)
+        end
+      end
+
+      filter
+    end
+    private :merge_branches
+
+    def parse_paren_expression(scanner)
+      if scanner.scan(/\s*\(\s*/)
+        expr = if scanner.scan(/\s*\&\s*/)
+                 merge_branches(:&, scanner)
+               elsif scanner.scan(/\s*\|\s*/)
+                 merge_branches(:|, scanner)
+               elsif scanner.scan(/\s*\!\s*/)
+                 br = parse_paren_expression(scanner)
+                 ~br if br
+               else
+                 parse_filter_branch(scanner)
+               end
+
+        if expr and scanner.scan(/\s*\)\s*/)
+          expr
+        end
+      end
+    end
+    private :parse_paren_expression
+
+    ##
+    # This parses a given expression inside of parentheses.
+    def parse_filter_branch(scanner)
+      scanner.scan(/\s*/)
+      if token = scanner.scan(/[-\w:.]*[\w]/)
+        scanner.scan(/\s*/)
+        if op = scanner.scan(/<=|>=|!=|:=|=/)
+          scanner.scan(/\s*/)
+          if value = scanner.scan(/(?:[-\w*.+@=,#\$%&!'\s]|\\[a-fA-F\d]{2})+/)
+            # 20100313 AZ: Assumes that "(uid=george*)" is the same as
+            # "(uid=george* )". The standard doesn't specify, but I can find
+            # no examples that suggest otherwise.
+            value.strip!
+            case op
+            when "="
+              Net::LDAP::Filter.eq(token, value)
+            when "!="
+              Net::LDAP::Filter.ne(token, value)
+            when "<="
+              Net::LDAP::Filter.le(token, value)
+            when ">="
+              Net::LDAP::Filter.ge(token, value)
+            when ":="
+              Net::LDAP::Filter.ex(token, value)
+            end
+          end
+        end
+      end
+    end
+    private :parse_filter_branch
+  end # class Net::LDAP::FilterParser
+end # class Net::LDAP::Filter