TBD R. Stepanek
Internet-Draft FastMail
Intended status: Standards Track M. Loffredo
Expires: December 22, 2019 IIT-CNR
June 20, 2019

JSContact: A JSON representation of addressbook data
draft-stepanek-jscontact-02

Abstract

This specification defines a data model and JSON representation of contact information that can be used for data storage and exchange in address book or directory applications. It aims to be an alternative to the vCard data format and to be unambiguous, extendable and simple to process. In contrast to the JSON-based jCard format, it is not a direct mapping from the vCard data model and expands semantics where appropriate.

Status of This Memo

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

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This Internet-Draft will expire on December 22, 2019.

Copyright Notice

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Table of Contents

1. Introduction

This document defines a data model for contact data normally used in address book or directory applications and services. It aims to be an alternative to the vCard data format [RFC6350] and to provide a JSON-based standard representation of contacts data.

The key design considerations for this data model are as follows:

The representation of this data model is defined in the I-JSON format [RFC7493], which is a strict subset of the JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data Interchange Format [RFC8259]. Using JSON is mostly a pragmatic choice: its widespread use makes JSContact easier to adopt, and the availability of production-ready JSON implementations eliminates a whole category of parser-related interoperability issues.

1.1. Relation to the xCard and jCard formats

The xCard [RFC6351] and jCard [RFC7095] specifications define alternative representations for vCard data, in XML and JSON format respectively. Both explicitly aim to not change the underlying data model. Accordingly, they are regarded as equal to vCard in the context of this document.

1.2. Terminology

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "NOT RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC2119] [RFC8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

2. Contact

MIME type: application/jscontact+json;type=jscontact

A JSContact object stores contact information about a person, organization or company. It has the following properties:

A ContactMethod object has the following properties:

An Address object has the following properties:

3. Contact Group

MIME type: application/jscontact+json;type=jscontactgroup

A JSContactGroup object represents a named set of contacts. It has the following properties:

4. IANA Considerations

TBD

5. Security Considerations

TBD

6. References

6.1. Normative References

[RFC2119] Bradner, S., "Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels", BCP 14, RFC 2119, DOI 10.17487/RFC2119, March 1997.
[RFC4122] Leach, P., Mealling, M. and R. Salz, "A Universally Unique IDentifier (UUID) URN Namespace", RFC 4122, DOI 10.17487/RFC4122, July 2005.
[RFC5870] Mayrhofer, A. and C. Spanring, "A Uniform Resource Identifier for Geographic Locations ('geo' URI)", RFC 5870, DOI 10.17487/RFC5870, June 2010.
[RFC6350] Perreault, S., "vCard Format Specification", RFC 6350, DOI 10.17487/RFC6350, August 2011.
[RFC6351] Perreault, S., "xCard: vCard XML Representation", RFC 6351, DOI 10.17487/RFC6351, August 2011.
[RFC7095] Kewisch, P., "jCard: The JSON Format for vCard", RFC 7095, DOI 10.17487/RFC7095, January 2014.
[RFC7493] Bray, T., "The I-JSON Message Format", RFC 7493, DOI 10.17487/RFC7493, March 2015.
[RFC8174] Leiba, B., "Ambiguity of Uppercase vs Lowercase in RFC 2119 Key Words", BCP 14, RFC 8174, DOI 10.17487/RFC8174, May 2017.
[RFC8259] Bray, T., "The JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) Data Interchange Format", STD 90, RFC 8259, DOI 10.17487/RFC8259, December 2017.

6.2. Informative References

[RFC3339] Klyne, G. and C. Newman, "Date and Time on the Internet: Timestamps", RFC 3339, DOI 10.17487/RFC3339, July 2002.
[RFC5646] Phillips, A. and M. Davis, "Tags for Identifying Languages", BCP 47, RFC 5646, DOI 10.17487/RFC5646, September 2009.
[RFC6473] Saint-Andre, P., "vCard KIND:application", RFC 6473, DOI 10.17487/RFC6473, December 2011.
[RFC6474] Li, K. and B. Leiba, "vCard Format Extensions: Place of Birth, Place and Date of Death", RFC 6474, DOI 10.17487/RFC6474, December 2011.
[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, August 2012.
[RFC6869] Salgueiro, G., Clarke, J. and P. Saint-Andre, "vCard KIND:device", RFC 6869, DOI 10.17487/RFC6869, February 2013.
[RFC8605] Hollenbeck, S. and R. Carney, "vCard Format Extensions: ICANN Extensions for the Registration Data Access Protocol (RDAP)", RFC 8605, DOI 10.17487/RFC8605, May 2019.

Authors' Addresses

Robert Stepanek FastMail PO Box 234, Collins St West Melbourne, VIC 8007 Australia EMail: rsto@fastmailteam.com
Mario Loffredo IIT-CNR Via Moruzzi,1 Pisa, 56124 Italy EMail: mario.loffredo@iit.cnr.it