You need to deploy a directory services platform in your multi$-$OS office environment, and you have been asked to choose between LDAP and Active Directory as part of the implementation. Which one should you choose, and why?

a$.$ Active Directory, since although it is much older than LDAP, a large part of LDAP is derived from Active Directory

b$.$ Active Directory, since it is platform$-$independent, while LDAP was developed by Microsoft and works in Windows environments

c$.$ LDAP, since it is a platform$-$independent protocol used to retrieve data from Directory Services, while Active Directory is Microsoft's proprietary implementation of a directory service

d$.$ LDAP, since it is a database system that provides authentication, directory, policy, and other services, while Active Directory is an application protocol for querying and modifying items in directory service providers