1.3.2 Dialect

A single identity attributes within an identity object can be identified in multiple ways. In other words, there could be multiple identity attribute types that each name the same identity attribute. For example, in the previous section, the use of an LDAP display name (for example, givenName) as a identity attribute type was given. Another means of naming the same identity attribute, in the example case of each identity object corresponding to a directory object, might be to use the object identifier (OID) of the directory attribute. The OID acts as a different identity attribute type that names the same identity attribute. These two distinct forms of identity attribute types are each a different dialect of identity attribute type.

Formally, a dialect is a specification of the format of identity attribute types. Each dialect is uniquely identified by a unique Uniform Resource Identifier (URI).