multiple values in ldap question

[Will Holcomb <will@himinbi.org>]

This question is not exactly openldap specific, but I am using openldap in 
a program where I am facing this issue. =) LDAP has schemas that define 
what value is allowed where and certain values are "multivalued" meaning 
there can be more than one instance, right? As best I can tell the common 
way is to define a new entity type for every possibility.

I am working on a program for a school. I have students that have a school
address (campus box), home address (their actual house), parent's address
(which is sometimes mother's address and father's address.) If I were
doing this in the way it is usually done I would define a new entity type
for each of those, right? And then all of the info would be in the entry,
so I would have no good way to distinguish between someone who lived in
Joneboro, Tennessee and someone who lived on Jonesboro Road in neighboring
Bristol, Tennessee. Since a search for homeAddress=*Jonesboro* would
return both.

Why is this preferable (other than incompatabilities with existing 
schemas) to making an address node type in the tree and it having a type 
attribute which has a certain set of allowed values? This would allow 
adding new types without redefining the schema and allow me to search for 
&(type=home, city=Jonesboro).

I like ldap and I want to use the technology, and I am just trying to 
understand it to that end.

Will Holcomb