What's the difference between JNDI lookup(), list(), listBindings(), and search()?

lookup() attempts to find the specified object in the given context. I.e., it looks for a single, specific object and either finds it in the current context or it fails.

list() attempts to return an enumeration of all of the NameClassPair's of all of the objects in the current context. I.e., it's a listing of all of the objects in the current context but only returns the object's name and the name of the class to which the object belongs.

listBindings() attempts to return an enumeration of the Binding's of all of the objects in the current context. I.e., it's a listing of all of the objects in the current context with the object's name, its class name, and a reference to the object itself.

search() attempts to return an enumeration of all of the objects matching a given set of search criteria. It can search across multiple contexts (or not). It can return whatever attributes of the objects that you desire. Etc. It's by far the most complex and powerful of these options but is also the most expensive.