content/api/user-guide/2.5-deleting.mdtext

Title: 2.5 - Deleting entries
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# 2.5 - Deleting entries

Deleting an entry is pretty easy, it just requires the entry's _DN_. There is one important thing to understand though, if the entry has children, the operation will fail.

## Simple entry deletion

We request a deletion by providing the entry's _DN_, as in the following example:

    :::Java
    @Test
    public void testDeleteLeafNode() throws Exception
    {
        assertTrue( session.exists( "cn=child1,cn=parent,ou=system" ) );

        try 
        {
            connection.delete( "cn=child1,cn=parent,ou=system" );
        }
        catch ( LdapException le )
        {
            fail( le.getMessage() );
        }

        assertFalse( session.exists( "cn=child1,cn=parent,ou=system" ) );
    }


Trying to delete a parent node would result in an error (NOT_ALLOWED_ON_NON_LEAF) :

    :::Java
    @Test
    public void testDeleteNonLeafFailure() throws Exception
    {
        assertTrue( session.exists( "cn=parent,ou=system" ) );

        try 
        {
            connection.delete( "cn=parent,ou=system" );
        }
        catch ( LdapException le )
        {
            fail( le.getMessage() );
        }

        assertTrue( session.exists( "cn=parent,ou=system" ) );
    }


## Recursive deletion of entries

Usually, you can't delete an entry and all of its children in one operation. However, some servers accept such requests if you send a delete request and a TreeDelete control. This control is a [draft](http://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-armijo-ldap-treedelete-02), which has been implemented by **Microsoft**, **OpenDS**, **OpenDJ**. It will delete all the children and the entry itself. We don't use a normal _delete()_ method, there is a specific method, _deleteTree()_. Here is an example :

    :::Java
    @Test
    public void testDeleteWithCascadeControl() throws Exception
    {
        assertTrue( session.exists( "cn=parent,ou=system" ) );


        try
        {
            connection.deleteTree( "cn=parent,ou=system" );
        }
        catch ( LdapException le )
        {
            fail( le.getMessage() );
        }

        assertFalse( session.exists( "cn=parent,ou=system" ) );
    }


## Sending a DeleteRequest with a control

It's also possible to associate a **[Control]** with the delete request. In order to do that, you have to create a _DelRequest_ instance. In the following example, we will add the Delete Tree control (this make this call equivalent to the _deleteTree()_ method).

    :::Java
    @Test
    public void testDeleteWithControl() throws Exception
    {
        assertTrue( session.exists( "cn=parent,ou=system" ) );

        if ( connection.isControlSupported( "1.2.840.113556.1.4.805" ) )
        {
            DeleteRequest deleteRequest = new DeleteRequestImpl();
            deleteRequest.setName( new Dn( "cn=parent,ou=system" ) );
            Control deleteTreeControl = new OpaqueControl( "1.2.840.113556.1.4.805" );
            deleteRequest.addControl( deleteTreeControl );
    
            DeleteResponse deleteResponse = connection.delete( deleteRequest );
    
            assertNotNull( deleteResponse );
            assertEquals( ResultCodeEnum.SUCCESS, deleteResponse.getLdapResult().getResultCode() );
            assertFalse( session.exists( "cn=parent,ou=system" ) );
        }
    }


## Asynchronous delete

You can also decide to send an asynchronous delete request : the method will return a Future that you can check later. You have to construct a **[DeleteRequest]** instance. Here is an example :

    :::Java
    @Test
    public void testDeleteAsync() throws Exception
    {
        assertTrue( session.exists( "cn=child,cn=parent,ou=system" ) );

        DeleteRequest deleteRequest = new DeleteRequestImpl();
        deleteRequest.setName( new Dn( "cn=child,cn=parent,ou=system" ) );

        DeleteFuture deleteFuture = connection.deleteAsync( deleteRequest );

        DeleteResponse deleteResponse = deleteFuture.get( 1000, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS );

        assertNotNull( deleteResponse );
        assertEquals( ResultCodeEnum.SUCCESS, deleteResponse.getLdapResult().getResultCode() );
        assertFalse( session.exists( "cn=child,cn=parent,ou=system" ) );
    }