1. A computer-implemented method comprising: receiving, by a server, a request pertaining to data in a Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) repository, the request indicating at least one action; evaluating a format of the request to determine a behavior of the action, wherein evaluating the format comprises identifying the behavior of the action based on whether the request has an attribute subtype including an identifier of the action or a return attribute whose value is to be returned as a result of the request, the return attribute being associated with the action in a definition of the LDAP repository; accessing the definition of the LDAP repository for data specifying the action using at least one of the action identifier specified in the request and the return attribute specified in the request, the action being represented by associated code, the data specifying the action in the definition of the LDAP repository including the code associated with the action or a reference to the code associated with the action, wherein the definition of the LDAP repository comprises a schema that associates the action with one or more object classes; using, by the server, the data specifying the action in the definition of the LDAP repository to cause the action to be performed with respect to one or more data items in the LDAP repository, wherein the action is to be performed based on the identified behavior; and returning a result of the performed action to a requestor.