mf@14v.de writes:

attributetype ( 1.3.6.1.4.1.22558.2.1.1 NAME 'o4vdescription' DESC 'RFC2256: descriptive information' EQUALITY caseIgnoreMatch SUBSTR caseIgnoreSubstringsMatch SYNTAX 1.3.6.1.4.1.1466.115.121.1.15{1024} )

If I leave out the blank preceding the closing paranthesis, so that there is just the newline between the "{1024}" and the ")", slapd refuses to start

Not a bug. The 'attributetype' format is contained inside the slapd.conf format. The slapd.conf format is that each directive is written in one conceptual line: one line plus any additional slapd.conf continuation lines - i.e. lines which start with whitespace.

Though if the documentation is unclear on this point, feel free to suggest how to improve it.