Internet-Draft jscontact-vcard April 2021
Loffredo & Stepanek Expires 16 October 2021 [Page]
Workgroup:
jmap
Internet-Draft:
draft-ietf-jmap-jscontact-vcard-03
Published:
Intended Status:
Standards Track
Expires:
Authors:
M. Loffredo
IIT-CNR/Registro.it
R. Stepanek
FastMail

JSContact: Converting from and to vCard

Abstract

This document defines how to convert contact information as defined in the JSContact [draft-ietf-jmap-jscontact] specification from and to vCard.

Status of This Memo

This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Note that other groups may also distribute working documents as Internet-Drafts. The list of current Internet-Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.

Internet-Drafts are draft documents valid for a maximum of six months and may be updated, replaced, or obsoleted by other documents at any time. It is inappropriate to use Internet-Drafts as reference material or to cite them other than as "work in progress."

This Internet-Draft will expire on 16 October 2021.

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

1.1. Motivation

The JSContact specification [draft-ietf-jmap-jscontact] has been defined to represent contact card information as a more efficient alternative to vCard [RFC6350] and its JSON-based version named jCard [RFC7095].

While new applications might adopt JSContact as their main format to exchange contact card data, they are likely to interoperate with services and clients that just support vCard/jCard. Similarly, existing contact data providers and consumers already using vCard/jCard might want to represent their data also according to the JSContact specification.

To facilitate this, this document defines how to convert contact information as defined in the JSContact [draft-ietf-jmap-jscontact] specification from and to vCard.

1.2. Scope and Caveats

JSContact and vCard have a lot of semantics in common, however some differences must be outlined:

1.2.1. Extensions

While translating vCard properties to JSContact, any vCard property that doesn't have a direct counterpart in JSContact MUST be converted into a property whose name is prefixed by "ietf.org/<RFC defining the extension>/".

Any custom extension MAY be added and its name MUST be prefixed with a specific domain name to avoid conflict, e.g. "example.com/customprop".

Similarly, the reversed rules are applied while translating JSContact properties to vCard.

1.3. Conventions Used in This Document

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC2119].

In the following of this document, the vCard features, namely properties and parameters, are written in uppercase while the JSCard/JSCardGroup features are written in camel case wrapped in double quotes.

2. Translating vCard properties to JSContact

This section contains the translation rules from vCard to JSCard/JSCardGroup. The vCard properties are grouped according to the categories as defined in [RFC6350].

2.1. Common Parameters

The following mapping rules apply to parameters that are common to most of the vCard properties:

  • The generic values of the TYPE parameter are mapped onto the values of the "Context" type as defined in Section 1.5.1 of [draft-ietf-jmap-jscontact]. The "home" value corresponds to the "private" key. The mapping of those specific TYPE values used in the TEL and RELATED properties are defined in the following of the document.

  • The PREF parameter is mapped onto the "pref" property.

  • The MEDIATYPE parameter is mapped onto the "mediaType" property. As described in Section 5.7 of [RFC6350], the media type of a resource can be identified by its URI. For example, "image/gif" can be derived from the ".gif" extension of a GIF image URI. JSContact producers MAY provide the media type information even when it is not specified in the vCard.

  • The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters are used in combination for associating the language-dependent alternatives with a given property. Such alternatives are represented by using the "localizations" map of a "LocalizedString" member inside the matching JSContact object.

  • The LEVEL parameter as defined in [RFC6715] is directly mapped onto the "level" property of the "PersonalInformation" type apart from when LEVEL is used in the EXPERTISE property; in this case, the values are converted as in the following:

    • "beginner" is converted into "low";
    • "average" is converted into "medium";
    • "expert" is converted into "high".

2.2. JSContact Id

The rules to generate a map key of type Id are out of the scope of this document.

2.3. General Properties

2.3.1. BEGIN and END

The BEGIN and END properties don't have a direct match with a JSContact feature.

2.3.2. SOURCE

A SOURCE property is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 1). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "uri", the "label" member is set to "source" and the "resource" member is the SOURCE value.

The PREF and MEDIATYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    SOURCE:http://directory.example.com/addressbooks/jdoe/Jean%20Dupont.vcf
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
       ...
       "a-source":{
         "type": "uri",
         "label": "source",
         "resource": "http://directory.example.com/addressbooks/jdoe/Jean%20Dupont.vcf"
       },
       ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 1: SOURCE mapping example

2.3.3. KIND

The KIND property is mapped onto the "kind" member (Figure 2). Allowed values are those described in Section 6.1.4 of [RFC6350] and extended with the values declared in [RFC6473] and [RFC6869]. The value "group" is reserved for a JSCardGroup instance.

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    KIND:individual
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "kind": "individual",
    ...
    }
Figure 2: KIND mapping example

2.3.4. XML

The XML property doesn't have a direct match with a JSContact feature.

2.4. Identification Properties

2.4.1. FN

All the FN instances are globally represented through the "fullName" member. The presence of multiple instances is implicitly associated with the full name translations in various languages regardless of the presence of the ALTID parameter. Each translation corresponds to a different entry of the "localizations" map (Figure 3).

2.4.2. N and NICKNAME

The N instances are converted into equivalent items of the "name" array (Figure 3): the N components are transformed into related "NameComponent" objects as presented in Table 1. Name components SHOULD be ordered such that their values joined by whitespace produce a valid full name of this entity.

Each NICKNAME instance is mapped onto an item of "nickNames" array.

Table 1: N components mapping
N component "type" value
Honorific Prefixes prefix
Given Names personal
Family Names surname
Additional Names additional
Honorific Suffixes suffix 
    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    FN:Mr. John Q. Public\, Esq.
    N:Public;John;Quinlan;Mr.;Esq.
    NICKNAME:Johnny
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "fullName":{ "value": "Mr. John Q. Public, Esq." },
    "name":[
      { "value":"Mr.", "type": "prefix" },
      { "value":"John", "type": "personal" },
      { "value":"Public", "type": "surname" },
      { "value":"Quinlan", "type": "additional" },
      { "value":"Esq.", "type": "suffix" }
    ],
    "nickNames":[
      { "value": "Johnny" }
    ],
    ...
    }
Figure 3: FN, N, NICKNAME mapping example

2.4.3. PHOTO

A PHOTO property is represented as an entry of the "photos" map (Figure 4). The entry value is a "File" object whose "href" member is the PHOTO value.

The PREF and MEDIATYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    PHOTO:http://www.example.com/pub/photos/jqpublic.gif
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "photos":{
       ...
       "a-photo":{
         "href": "http://www.example.com/pub/photos/jqpublic.gif"
       },
       ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 4: PHOTO mapping example

2.4.4. BDAY, BIRTHPLACE, DEATHDATE, DEATHPLACE, ANNIVERSARY

The BDAY and ANNIVERSARY properties and the extensions BIRTHPLACE, DEATHDATE, DEATHPLACE described in [RFC6350] are represented as "Anniversary" objects included in the "anniversaries" array (Figure 5):

  • BDAY and BIRTHPLACE are mapped onto "date" and "place" where "type" is set to "birth";

  • DEATHDATE and DEATHPLACE are mapped onto "date" and "place" where "type" is set to "death";

  • ANNIVERSARY is mapped onto "date" where "type" is set to "other" and "label" is set to a value describing in detail the kind of anniversary (e.g. "marriage date" for the wedding anniversary).

Both birth and death places are represented as instances of the "Address" object.

The BIRTHPLACE and DEATHPLACE properties that are represented as geo URIs are converted into "Address" instances including only the "coordinates" member. If the URI value is not a geo URI, the place is ignored.

The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters of both BIRTHPLACE and DEATHPLACE properties are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1). The "fullAddress.localizations" includes possible language-dependent alternatives.

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    BDAY:19531015T231000Z
    BIRTHPLACE:Mail Drop: TNE QB\n123 Main Street\nAny Town, CA 91921-1234\nU.S.A.
    DEATHDATE:19960415
    DEATHPLACE:4445 Courtright Street\nNew England, ND 58647\nU.S.A.
    ANNIVERSARY:19860201
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "anniversaries":[
      {
        "type": "birth",
        "date": "1953-10-15T23:10:00Z",
        "place":{
          "fullAddress":{
            "value": "Mail Drop: TNE QB\n123 Main Street\nAny Town, CA 91921-1234\nU.S.A."
          }
        }
      },
      {
        "type": "birth",
        "date": "1953-10-15T23:10:00Z",
        "place":{
          "fullAddress":{
            "value": "4445 Courtright Street\nNew England, ND 58647\nU.S.A."
          }
        }
      },
      {
        "type": "other",
        "label": "marriage date",
        "date": "1986-02-01"
      }
    ],
    ...
    }
Figure 5: BDAY, BIRTHPLACE, DEATHDATE, DEATHPLACE, ANNIVERSARY mapping example

2.4.5. GENDER

The GENDER property doesn't have a direct match with a JSContact feature.

2.5. Delivery Addressing Properties

2.5.1. ADR

An ADR property is represented as an entry of the "addresses" map (Figure 6). The entry value is an "Address" object.

The ADR components are transformed into the "Address" members as presented in Table 2.

Table 2: ADR components mapping
ADR component Address member
p.o. box postOfficeBox
extended address extension
street address street
locality locality
region region
postal code postcode
country name country

The LABEL parameter is converted into the "fullAddress" member.

The GEO parameter is converted into the "coordinates" member.

The TZ parameter is converted into the "timeZone" member.

The CC parameter as defined in [RFC8605] is converted into the "countryCode" member.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1). The "fullAddress.localizations" includes possible language-dependent alternatives.

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    ADR;TYPE=work;CC=US:;;54321 Oak St;Reston;VA;20190;USA
    ADR;TYPE=home;CC=US:;;12345 Elm St;Reston;VA;20190;USA
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "addresses":{
      "work-address" :{
        "contexts":{ "work": true },
        "fullAddress":{
          "value": "54321 Oak St\nReston\nVA\n20190\nUSA"
        },
        "street": "54321 Oak St",
        "locality": "Reston",
        "region": "VA",
        "country": "USA",
        "postcode": "20190",
        "countryCode": "US"
      },
      "private-address":{
        "contexts":{ "private": true },
        "fullAddress":{
          "value": "12345 Elm St\nReston\nVA\n20190\nUSA"
        },
        "street": "12345 Elm St",
        "locality": "Reston",
        "region": "VA",
        "country": "USA",
        "postcode": "20190",
        "countryCode": "US"
      }
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 6: ADR mapping example

2.6. Communications Properties

2.6.1. TEL

A TEL property is represented as an entry of the "phones" map (Figure 7). The entry value is a "Phone" object. The TEL-specific values of the TYPE parameter are mapped onto the "features" map keys. The values that don't match a key are represented as comma-separated values of the "label" member. If the "features" map is empty and the "label" member is not empty, the "other" feature is added. The "phone" member is set to the TEL value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    TEL;VALUE=uri;PREF=1;TYPE="voice,home":tel:+1-555-555-5555;ext=5555
    TEL;VALUE=uri;TYPE=home:tel:+33-01-23-45-67
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "phones":{
      "a-phone":{
        "contexts":{ "private": true },
        "features":{ "voice": true },
        "phone": "tel:+1-555-555-5555;ext=5555",
        "pref": 1
      },
      "another-phone":{
        "contexts":{ "private": true },
        "phone": "tel:+33-01-23-45-67"
      }
    ],
    ...
    }
Figure 7: TEL mapping example

2.6.2. EMAIL

An EMAIL property is represented as an entry of the "emails" map (Figure 8). The entry value is an "EmailAddress" object. The "email" member is set to the EMAIL value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    EMAIL;TYPE=work:jqpublic@xyz.example.com
    EMAIL;PREF=1:jane_doe@example.com
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "emails":{
      "work-email":{
        "contexts":{ "work": true },
        "email": "jqpublic@xyz.example.com"
      },
      "private-email":{
        "contexts":{ "private", true },
        "email": "jane_doe@example.com",
        "pref": 1
      }
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 8: EMAIL mapping example

2.6.3. IMPP

An IMPP property is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 9). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "username", the "label" member is set to "XMPP" and the "resource" member is the IMPP value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    IMPP;PREF=1:xmpp:alice@example.com
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
      ...
      {
        "type": "username",
        "label": "XMPP",
        "value": "alice@example.com"
      },
      ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 9: IMPP mapping example

2.6.4. LANG

A LANG property is represented as an entry of the "preferredContactLanguages" map (Figure 10). The entry keys correspond to the language tags, the corresponding entry values are arrays of "ContactLanguage" objects.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

If both PREF and TYPE parameters are missing, the array of "ContactLanguage" objects MUST be empty.

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    LANG;TYPE=work;PREF=1:en
    LANG;TYPE=work;PREF=2:fr
    LANG;TYPE=home:fr
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "preferredContactLanguages":{
      "en":[
        {
          "context": "work",
          "pref": 1
        }
      ],
      "fr":[
        {
          "context": "work",
          "pref": 2
        },
        {
          "context": "private"
        }
      ]
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 10: LANG mapping example

2.7. Geographical Properties

The GEO and TZ properties are not directly mapped onto topmost JSCard/JSCardGroup members because the same information is represented through equivalent "Address" members.

The ALTID parameter is used for associating both GEO and TZ properties with the related address information. When the ALTID parameter is missing, the matched members SHOULD be included in the first "Address" object.

2.7.1. Time Zone Representation

As specified in Section 6.5.1 of [RFC6350], the time zone information can be represented in three ways: as a time zone name, as a UTC offset or as a URI.

  • The time zone name is directly matched by the "timeZone" member in JSContact.

  • An UTC offset MUST be converted into the related "Etc/GMT" time zone (e.g. the value "-0500" converts to "Etc/GMT+5"). If the UTC offset value contains minutes information, it MUST be mapped to the zone "Etc/GMT<sign><hour>:<minute>".

  • Since there is no URI scheme defined for time zones [uri-schemes], any implementation that does use some a custom URI for a time zone is not interoperable anyway. In this case, if the URI corresponds to an IANA time zone [time-zones], this latter SHOULD be used. Otherwise, the URI value is dumped into a string.

2.8. Organizational Properties

2.8.1. TITLE and ROLE

Both TITLE and ROLE properties are represented as entries of the "titles" map (Figure 11). The entry value is a "Title" object whose "title" member includes information about the language.

The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1). The "title.localizations" includes possible language-dependent alternatives.

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    TITLE:Research Scientist
    ROLE:Project Leader
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "titles":{
      "a-title":{
        "title":{ "value" : "Project Leader" }
      },
      "another-title":{
        "title":{ "value" : "Research Scientist" }
      }
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 11: TITLE and ROLE mapping example

A LOGO property is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 12). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "uri", the "label" member is set to "logo" and the "resource" member is the LOGO value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    LOGO:http://www.example.com/pub/logos/abccorp.jpg
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
      ...
      "a-logo":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "logo",
        "resource": "http://www.example.com/pub/logos/abccorp.jpg"
      },
      ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 12: LOGO mapping example

2.8.3. ORG

An ORG property is represented as an entry of the "organizations" map (Figure 13). The entry value is an "Organization" object whose "name" member contains the organizational name and the "units" member contains the organizational units.

The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1). The "localizations" maps for both "name" and "units" include possible language-dependent alternatives.

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    ORG:ABC\, Inc.;North American Division;Marketing
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "organizations":{
      "an-organization":{
        "name":{ "value": "ABC, Inc." },
        "units":[
          { "value": "North American Division" },
          { "value": "Marketing" }
        ]
      }
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 13: ORG mapping example

2.8.4. MEMBER

According to the JSContact specification, a group of contact cards is represented through a JSCardGroup (Figure 14). The uids of the contact cards composing the group are included in the "members" map.

In this case, the PREF parameter has not a JSContact counterpart; however, the implementers MAY insert the map entries by order of preference.

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    KIND:group
    FN:The Doe family
    MEMBER:urn:uuid:03a0e51f-d1aa-4385-8a53-e29025acd8af
    MEMBER:urn:uuid:b8767877-b4a1-4c70-9acc-505d3819e519
    END:VCARD
    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    FN:John Doe
    UID:urn:uuid:03a0e51f-d1aa-4385-8a53-e29025acd8af
    END:VCARD
    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    FN:Jane Doe
    UID:urn:uuid:b8767877-b4a1-4c70-9acc-505d3819e519
    END:VCARD

    [
      {
        "kind": "group",
        "fullName":{ "value": "The Doe family" },
        "uid": "urn:uuid:ab4310aa-fa43-11e9-8f0b-362b9e155667",
        "members":{
          "urn:uuid:03a0e51f-d1aa-4385-8a53-e29025acd8af": true,
          "urn:uuid:b8767877-b4a1-4c70-9acc-505d3819e519": true
        }
      },
      {
        "fullName":{ "value": "John Doe" },
        "uid": "urn:uuid:03a0e51f-d1aa-4385-8a53-e29025acd8af"
      },
      {
        "fullName":{ "value": "Jane Doe" },
        "uid": "urn:uuid:b8767877-b4a1-4c70-9acc-505d3819e519"
      }
    ]
Figure 14: Group example

All the RELATED instances are globally converted into the "relatedTo" map (Figure 15): an entry for each entity the entity described by the JSCard is associated with. The map keys are the "uid" values of the associated cards.

Each map value is a "Relation" object including only the "relation" member represented as a set of the RELATED-specific values of the TYPE parameter as defined in Section 6.6.6 of [RFC6350].

If the relation type is unspecified, the "relation" member MUST be empty.

2.8.6. CONTACT-URI

A CONTACT-URI property as defined in [RFC8605] is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 16). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "uri", the "label" member is set to "contact-uri" and the "resource" member is the CONTACT-URI value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    CONTACT-URI;PREF=1:mailto:contact@example.com
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
      ...
      "a-contact-uri":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "contact-uri",
        "resource": "mailto:contact@example.com",
        "pref": 1
      },
      ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 16: CONTACT-URI mapping example

2.9. Personal Information Properties

2.9.1. EXPERTISE

An EXPERTISE property as defined in [RFC6715] is represented as a "PersonalInformation" object in the "personalInfo" array (Figure 17). The "type" member is set to "expertise".

The INDEX parameter is represented as the index of the expertise among the declared expertises.

The LEVEL parameter is mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    EXPERTISE;LEVEL=beginner;INDEX=2:chinese literature
    EXPERTISE;INDEX=1;LEVEL=expert:chemistry
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "personalInfo":[
      ...
      {
        "type": "expertise",
        "value": "chemistry",
        "level": "high"
      },
      {
        "type": "expertise",
        "value": "chinese literature",
         "level": "low"
      },
      ...
    ],
    ...
    }
Figure 17: EXPERTISE mapping example

2.9.2. HOBBY

A HOBBY property as defined in [RFC6715] is represented as a "PersonalInformation" object in the "personalInfo" array (Figure 18). The "type" member is set to "hobby".

The INDEX parameter is represented as the index of the hobby among the declared hobbies.

The LEVEL parameter is mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    HOBBY;INDEX=1;LEVEL=high:reading
    HOBBY;INDEX=2;LEVEL=high:sewing
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "personalInfo":[
      ...
      {
        "type": "hobby",
        "value": "reading",
        "level": "high"
      },
      {
        "type": "hobby",
        "value": "sewing",
        "level": "high"
      },
      ...
    ],
    ...
    }
Figure 18: HOBBY mapping example

2.9.3. INTEREST

An INTEREST property as defined in [RFC6715] is represented as a "PersonalInformation" object in the "personalInfo" array (Figure 19). The "type" member is set to "interest".

The INDEX parameter is represented as the index of the interest among the declared interests.

The LEVEL parameter is mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    INTEREST;INDEX=1;LEVEL=medium:r&b music
    INTEREST;INDEX=2;LEVEL=high:rock ’n’ roll music
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "personalInfo":[
      ...
      {
        "type": "interest",
        "value": "r&b music",
        "level": "medium"
      },
      {
        "type": "interest",
        "value": "rock ’n’ roll music",
        "level": "high"
      },
      ...
    ],
    ...
    }
Figure 19: INTEREST mapping example

2.9.4. ORG-DIRECTORY

An ORG-DIRECTORY property is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 20). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "uri", the "label" member is set to "org-directory" and the "resource" member is the ORG-DIRECTORY value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

The INDEX parameter is represented as the index of the directory among the online resources with the "org-directory" label.

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    ORG-DIRECTORY;INDEX=1:http://directory.mycompany.example.com
    ORG-DIRECTORY;PREF=1:ldap://ldap.tech.example/o=Example%20Tech,ou=Engineering
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
      ...
      "an-org-directory":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "org-directory",
        "resource": "http://directory.mycompany.example.com"
      },
      "another-org-directory":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "org-directory",
        "resource": "ldap://ldap.tech.example/o=Example%20Tech,ou=Engineering",
        "pref": 1
      },
      ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 20: ORG-DIRECTORY mapping example

2.10. Explanatory Properties

2.10.1. CATEGORIES

A CATEGORIES property is converted into a set of entries of the "categories" map (Figure 21). The keys are the comma-separated text values of the CATEGORIES property.

In this case, the PREF parameter has not a JSContact counterpart; however, implementers MAY use a map preserving the order of insertion and the map entries can be inserted by order of preference.

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    CATEGORIES:INTERNET,IETF,INDUSTRY,INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "categories":{
      "INTERNET": true,
      "IETF": true,
      "INDUSTRY": true,
      "INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY": true
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 21: CATEGORIES mapping example

2.10.2. NOTE

A NOTE property is mapped onto the "notes" property (Figure 22). All the NOTE instances are condensed in a single note and separated by newline.

The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1). The "localizations" map includes possible language-dependent alternatives.

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    NOTE:This fax number is operational 0800 to 1715 EST\, Mon-Fri.
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "notes": {
        "value": "This fax number is operational 0800 to 1715 EST, Mon-Fri."
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 22: NOTE mapping example

2.10.3. PRODID

The PRODID property is converted into the "prodId" member (Figure 23).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    PRODID:-//ONLINE DIRECTORY//NONSGML Version 1//EN
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "prodId": "-//ONLINE DIRECTORY//NONSGML Version 1//EN",
    ...
    }
Figure 23: PRODID mapping example

2.10.4. REV

The REV property is transformed into the "updated" member (Figure 24).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    REV:19951031T222710Z
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "updated": "1995-10-31T22:27:10Z",
    ...
    }
Figure 24: REV mapping example

2.10.5. SOUND

A SOUND property is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 25). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "uri", the "label" member is set to "sound" and the "resource" member is the SOUND value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    SOUND:CID:JOHNQPUBLIC.part8.19960229T080000.xyzMail@example.com
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
      ...
      "a-sound":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "sound",
        "resource": "CID:JOHNQPUBLIC.part8.19960229T080000.xyzMail@example.com"
      },
      ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 25: SOUND mapping example

2.10.6. UID

The UID property corresponds to the "uid" property (Figure 26).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    UID:urn:uuid:f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "uid": "urn:uuid:f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6",
    ...
    }
Figure 26: UID mapping example

2.10.7. CLIENTPIDMAP and PID Parameter

The CLIENTPIDMAP property and the PDI parameter don't have a direct match with a JSCard feature.

2.10.8. URL

An URL property is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 27). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "uri", the "label" member is set to "url" and the "resource" member is the URL value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    URL:http://example.org/restaurant.french/~chezchic.html
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
      ...
      "an-url":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "url",
        "resource": "http://example.org/restaurant.french/~chezchic.html"
      },
      ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 27: URL mapping example

2.10.9. VERSION

The VERSION property doesn't have a direct match with a JSContact feature.

2.11. Security Properties

2.11.1. KEY

A KEY property is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 28). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "uri", the "label" member is set to "key" and the "resource" member is the KEY value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    KEY:http://www.example.com/keys/jdoe.cer
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
      ...
      "a-key":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "key",
        "resource": "http://www.example.com/keys/jdoe.cer"
      },
      ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 28: KEY mapping example

2.12. Calendar Properties

2.12.1. FBURL

An FBURL property is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 29). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "uri", the "label" member is set to "fburl" and the "resource" member is the FBURL value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    FBURL;PREF=1:http://www.example.com/busy/janedoe
    FBURL;MEDIATYPE=text/calendar:ftp://example.com/busy/project-a.ifb
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
      ...
      "an-fburl":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "fburl",
        "resource": "http://www.example.com/busy/janedoe",
        "pref": 1
      },
      "another-fburl":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "fburl",
        "resource": "ftp://example.com/busy/project-a.ifb",
        "mediaType": "text/calendar"
      },
      ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 29: FBURL mapping example

2.12.2. CALADRURI

A CALADRURI property is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 30). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "uri", the "label" member is set to "caladruri" and the "resource" member is the CALADRURI value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    CALADRURI;PREF=1:mailto:janedoe@example.com
    CALADRURI:http://example.com/calendar/jdoe
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
      ...
      "a-caladruri":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "caladruri",
        "resource": "mailto:janedoe@example.com",
        "pref": 1
      },
      "another-caladruri":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "caladruri",
        "resource": "http://example.com/calendar/jdoe"
      },
      ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 30: CALADRURI mapping example

2.12.3. CALURI

A CALURI property is represented as an entry of the "online" map (Figure 31). The entry value is a "Resource" object whose "type" member is set to "uri", the "label" member is set to "caluri" and the "resource" member is the CALURI value.

The PREF and TYPE parameters are mapped according to the rules as defined in (Section 2.1).

    BEGIN:VCARD
    VERSION:4.0
    ...
    CALURI;PREF=1:http://cal.example.com/calA
    CALURI;MEDIATYPE=text/calendar:ftp://ftp.example.com/calA.ics
    ...
    END:VCARD

    {
    ...
    "online":{
      ...
      "a-caluri":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "caluri",
        "resource": "http://cal.example.com/calA",
        "pref": 1
      },
      "another-caluri":{
        "type": "uri",
        "label": "caluri",
        "resource": "ftp://ftp.example.com/calA.ics",
        "mediaType": "text/calendar"
      },
      ...
    },
    ...
    }
Figure 31: CALURI mapping example

2.13. vCard Unmatched Properties

The unmatched vCard properties MAY be converted into JSContact properties whose name contains the prefix "ietf.org/RFC6350/" followed by property name in uppercase (i.e. ietf.org/RFC6350/GENDER").

2.14. JSCard Required Properties

While converting a vCard into a JSCard/JSCardGroup, only the topmost "uid" member is mandatory. Implementers are REQUIRED to set it when it is missing.

3. Translating JSContact properties to vCard

In most of the cases, the rules about the translation from JSCard/JSCardGroup to vCard can be derived by reversing the rules presented in Section 2. The remaining cases are treated in the following of this section.

3.1. Id

Where a map key is of type Id, implementers are free to either ignore it or preserve it as a vCard information (e.g. a vCard parameter).

3.2. Localizations

A LocalizedString object is converted in multiple instances of the same vCard property having different values of the LANGUAGE parameter. Implementers MAY set the ALTID parameter to couple language-based alternatives of the same value.

Note also that the components of some vCard values and their related alternatives are split into different JSContact values. For example, the "name" and "units" values for a given language must be grouped to make a single ORG value where components are separated by ";".

3.3. Date and Time Representations

The JSContact spec defines the "UTCDateTime" type to represent [RFC3339] "date-time" format with further restrictions. This means that the matched vCard format for a "UTCDateTime" value MUST be one of the formats shown in Section 4.3.5 of [RFC6350] (i.e. "19961022T140000Z").

In addition to such format, the "date" member of the "Anniversary" type allows specifying both a date without the time and a partial date. In this case, the corresponding vCard format is that defined in Section 4.3.1.

3.4. Time Zone

The time zone name as represented by the "timeZone" property is mapped onto the TZ parameter.

Implementers MAY map an "Etc/GMT" time zone either preserving the time zone name or converting it into a UTC offset.

3.5. JSContact Types Matching Multiple vCard Properties

3.5.1. Title

The "titles" property contains information about the job, the position or the role of the entity the card represents. In vCard, such information is split into the TITLE and ROLE properties. This specification defines TITLE as the default target property when converting the "titles" property.

3.5.2. Resource

The "online" property includes resources that are usually represented through different vCard properties. The matched vCard property of a "Resource" object can be derived from the value of its "label" member.

Any resource included in the "online" map that doesn't match a vCard property MAY be converted into vCard extended properties.

3.6. JSCard Unmatched Properties

Both the "preferredContactMethod" and "created" members don't match any vCard property. Implementers MAY represent them as vCard extended properties.

3.7. vCard Required Properties

While converting a JSCard/JSCardGroup into a vCard, only the FN property is required. Since the "fullName" property is optional, implementers are REQUIRED to generate an FN value when it is missing.

4. IANA Considerations

This document has no actions for IANA.

5. Implementation Status

NOTE: Please remove this section and the reference to RFC 7942 prior to publication as an RFC.

This section records the status of known implementations of the protocol as defined in this specification at the time of posting of this Internet-Draft, and is based on a proposal described in [RFC7942]. The description of implementations in this section is intended to assist the IETF in its decision processes in progressing drafts to RFCs. Please note that the listing of any individual implementation here does not imply endorsement by the IETF. Furthermore, no effort has been spent to verify the information presented here that was supplied by IETF contributors. This is not intended as, and must not be construed to be, a catalog of available implementations or their features. Readers are advised to note that other implementations may exist.

According to RFC 7942, "this will allow reviewers and working groups to assign due considerationto documents that have the benefit of running code, which may serve as evidence of valuable experimentation and feedback that have made the implemented protocols more mature. It is up to the individual working groups to use this information as they see fit".

5.1. CNR

  • Responsible Organization: National Research Council (CNR) of Italy
  • Location: https://github.com/consiglionazionaledellericerche/jscontact-tools
  • Description: This implementation includes tools for JSContact creation, validation, serialization/deserialization, and conversion from vCard, xCard and jCard.
  • Level of Maturity: This is an "alpha" test implementation.
  • Coverage: This implementation includes all of the features described in this specification.
  • Contact Information: Mario Loffredo, mario.loffredo@iit.cnr.it

6. Security Considerations

This document doesn't present any security consideration.

7. References

7.1. Normative References

[RFC2119]
Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc2119>.
[RFC3339]
Klyne, G. and C. Newman, "Date and Time on the Internet: Timestamps", RFC 3339, DOI 10.17487/RFC3339, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc3339>.
[RFC6350]
Perreault, S., "vCard Format Specification", RFC 6350, DOI 10.17487/RFC6350, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6350>.
[RFC6473]
Saint-Andre, P., "vCard KIND:application", RFC 6473, DOI 10.17487/RFC6473, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6473>.
[RFC6474]
Li, K. and B. Leiba, "vCard Format Extensions: Place of Birth, Place and Date of Death", RFC 6474, DOI 10.17487/RFC6474, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6474>.
[RFC6715]
Cauchie, D., Leiba, B., and K. Li, "vCard Format Extensions: Representing vCard Extensions Defined by the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) Converged Address Book (CAB) Group", RFC 6715, DOI 10.17487/RFC6715, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6715>.
[RFC6869]
Salgueiro, G., Clarke, J., and P. Saint-Andre, "vCard KIND:device", RFC 6869, DOI 10.17487/RFC6869, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc6869>.
[RFC7095]
Kewisch, P., "jCard: The JSON Format for vCard", RFC 7095, DOI 10.17487/RFC7095, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7095>.
[RFC7942]
Sheffer, Y. and A. Farrel, "Improving Awareness of Running Code: The Implementation Status Section", BCP 205, RFC 7942, DOI 10.17487/RFC7942, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc7942>.
[RFC8605]
Hollenbeck, S. and R. Carney, "vCard Format Extensions: ICANN Extensions for the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP)", RFC 8605, DOI 10.17487/RFC8605, , <https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc8605>.

7.2. Informative References

[draft-ietf-jmap-jscontact]
"JSContact: A JSON representation of contact data", <https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-jmap-jscontact/>.
[time-zones]
"Time Zone Database", <https://www.iana.org/time-zones>.
[uri-schemes]
"Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) Schemes", <https://www.iana.org/assignments/uri-schemes/uri-schemes.xhtml>.

Authors' Addresses

Mario Loffredo
IIT-CNR/Registro.it
Via Moruzzi,1
56124 Pisa
Italy
URI: http://www.iit.cnr.it
Robert Stepanek
FastMail
PO Box 234, Collins St West
Melbourne VIC 8007
Australia
URI: https://www.fastmail.com