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An attribute value may also contain 'end of line' comments. These start with a hash (#)
and continue until the end of the physical line. If a value is split over several lines, any of
the lines may include an 'end of line' comment. You cannot continue the comment on
another line. These comments always stop at the end of the line in which they start. An
end of line comment cannot start at column 0. It is possible to add end of line comments
on several consecutive lines which together form a block of text. However, for long
comments, it is better to use the "remarks:" attribute.
Any free form value cannot contain a hash (#) as the software would treat this as a
comment. Although the software does not process comments, in some situations it does
strip off the comments before using the values.
Long end of line comments or long free form attribute values can cause problems. Some
mail clients automatically break lines at a certain point. If your mail client does this on an
update message then your update will fail. It may not be obvious at first sight that this has
happened.
Attributes can be mandatory, optional or generated.
You MUST define 'mandatory attributes' in all instances of an object type. If you do not,
then the update will fail.
You can skip 'optional attributes'. However, if you do decide to define them, then both
the attribute and its value must be syntactically correct. If they are not, then your update
will fail. When you skip an optional attribute, remove it completely from the object. You
cannot include the attribute name and leave the value blank (unless it is free text).
The database software creates any 'generated attributes'. You can skip generated
attributes. Where a user-supplied value is not correct, the software will replace it with a
generated value. If the software changes a user-supplied value, it will explain the change
in a warning message returned to the user. When you skip a generated attribute, remove it
completely from the object. You cannot include the attribute name and leave the value
blank (unless it is free text).
Attributes can have single or multiple values.
You can only include a 'single valued attribute' once in an object. That one instance can
only have a single value.
You can include a 'multiple valued attribute' many times within an object. Each of these
attribute instances may also have multiple values separated by commas. However, if the
value is free text, the attribute may only have a single value - as a comma may be a part
of the free text. But it can still have multiple instances.
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