RFC 9555 | JSContact: Converting from and to vCard | May 2024 |
Loffredo & Stepanek | Standards Track | [Page] |
This document defines how to convert contact information between the JSContact and vCard data formats. It defines conversion rules for every JSContact and vCard element registered at IANA at the time of publication. It also defines new JSContact properties as well as vCard properties and parameters, to support converting arbitrary or unknown JSContact and vCard elements.¶
This is an Internet Standards Track document.¶
This document is a product of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). It represents the consensus of the IETF community. It has received public review and has been approved for publication by the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG). Further information on Internet Standards is available in Section 2 of RFC 7841.¶
Information about the current status of this document, any errata, and how to provide feedback on it may be obtained at https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc9555.¶
Copyright (c) 2024 IETF Trust and the persons identified as the document authors. All rights reserved.¶
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The JSContact data model and format [RFC9553] aims to be an alternative to the widely used vCard standard [RFC6350] and jCard format [RFC7095].¶
While applications might prefer JSContact to exchange contact card data with other systems, they are likely to interoperate with services and clients that only support vCard or jCard. Similarly, existing contact data providers and consumers already using vCard or jCard might also want to represent their contact data in JSContact.¶
To achieve this, this document defines standard rules to convert contact data between JSContact and vCard (and consequently jCard).¶
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.¶
This section contains the conversion rules from the vCard to the JSContact Card. It follows the same structure as vCard v4 [RFC6350]. Properties and parameters of vCard extension RFCs, including those described in "vCard Format Extension for JSContact" [RFC9554], have been added to the appropriate subsections.¶
The UID property (Section 6.7.6 of [RFC6350]) in vCard is optional, but the Card object's uid property (Section 2.1.9 of [RFC9553]) is mandatory. Implementations that convert a vCard without a UID property MUST generate a unique identifier as value for the uid property. This value SHOULD be the same when converting the same vCard multiple times, but how to achieve this is implementation-specific.¶
Multivalued properties in JSContact are typically represented as a JSON object where the object keys are of the Id type (Section 1.4.1 of [RFC9553]) and the object values are the converted vCard property. In the absence of the PROP-ID parameter (see Section 2.3.18), implementations are free to choose any identifier as key for such entries. Whatever identifier generation scheme implementations use, they MUST generate values that are valid according to the definition of the Id type in [RFC9553]. For example, this could be an incrementing number across all identifier keys in the Card object or only unique within one JSON object.¶
The BOOLEAN type (Section 4.4 of [RFC6350]) converts to the JSContact Boolean type (Section 1.3.2 of [RFC9553]).¶
The TIMESTAMP type (Section 4.3.5 of [RFC6350]) converts to the UTCDateTime type (Section 1.4.5 of [RFC9553]), except for anniversaries. For anniversaries, it converts to the Timestamp type (Section 2.8.1 of [RFC9553]).¶
The DATE type (Section 4.3.1 of [RFC6350]) converts to a PartialDate object (Section 2.8.1 of [RFC9553]) when used for an anniversary, unless the DATE value only contains a month or a day (but not both).¶
The following temporal types do not convert to a JSContact datetime type. Instead, vCard properties or parameters having such value types convert as defined in Section 2.15.¶
The INTEGER type (Section 4.5 of [RFC6350]) converts to the JSContact Int and UnsignedInt types (Section 1.4.2 of [RFC9553]).¶
The FLOAT type (Section 4.6 of [RFC6350]) converts to the JSContact Number type (Section 1.3.2 of [RFC9553]).¶
The LANGUAGE-TAG type (Section 4.8 of [RFC6350]) converts to the JSContact String type (Section 1.3.2 of [RFC9553]). The value MUST be a language tag as defined in [RFC5646].¶
The TEXT type (Section 4.1 of [RFC6350]) converts to the JSContact String type (Section 1.3.2 of [RFC9553]).¶
The URI type (Section 4.2 of [RFC6350]) converts to the JSContact String type (Section 1.3.2 of [RFC9553]). The value MUST be a URI as defined in Section 3 of [RFC3986]¶
The UTC-OFFSET type (Section 4.7 of [RFC6350]) either converts to a String value containing an IANA Time Zone Database entry name (see Section 2.8.2) or does not convert to any JSContact type. For the latter, vCard properties or parameters having such values convert as defined in Section 2.15.¶
This section contains the conversion rules for vCard parameters. A rule typically applies only for specific vCard properties. To convert a vCard parameter on an arbitrary vCard property, see Section 2.15.2.¶
The ALTID parameter (Section 5.4 of [RFC6350]) does not convert to an IANA-registered property in JSContact, but several conversion rules make use of this parameter to combine multiple vCard properties into a single JSContact object instance. For an example of this, see Section 2.6.1. To preserve the verbatim value of the ALTID parameter, set the JSContact properties defined in Section 2.15.¶
The CALSCALE parameter (Section 5.8 of [RFC6350]) set on a BDAY, DEATHDATE, or ANNIVERSARY property converts to the PartialDate object's calendarScale property (Section 2.8.1 of [RFC9553]).¶
The CC parameter (Section 3.1 of [RFC8605]) on an ADR property converts to the Address object's countryCode property (Section 2.5.1.1 of [RFC9553]).¶
The CREATED parameter (Section 4.3 of [RFC9554]) on a NOTE property converts to the Note object's created property (Section 2.8.3 of [RFC9553]).¶
The DERIVED parameter (Section 4.4 of [RFC9554]) does not convert to JSContact. If the DERIVED parameter is set to "true" on a vCard property, then implementations MAY choose not to convert that property.¶
The GEO parameter (Section 5.10 of [RFC6350]) set on an ADR property converts to the Address object's coordinates property (Section 2.5.1.1 of [RFC9553]).¶
The GROUP parameter (Section 7.1 of [RFC7095]) does not convert to JSContact. It exclusively is for use in jCard and MUST NOT be set in a vCard.¶
Preserving the exact group name when converting from vCard to JSContact and back to vCard is not necessary. Any group identifiers will do, as long as the resulting vCard groups its properties equally to the original vCard. Implementations that still wish to preserve the exact property group name of a vCard property MAY set the jCard "group" parameter in the JSContact properties vCardProps or vCardParams as defined in Section 2.15.¶
The INDEX parameter (Section 3.1 of [RFC6715]) set on the EXPERTISE, HOBBY, INTEREST, and ORG-DIRECTORY properties converts to the PersonalInfo (Section 2.8.4 of [RFC9553]) and Directory (Section 2.6.2 of [RFC9553]) objects' listAs property.¶
The LANGUAGE parameter (Section 5.1 of [RFC6350]) converts to an entry in the Card object's localizations property (Section 2.7.1 of [RFC9553]) for that vCard property on which this parameter is set on. The value of the LANGUAGE parameter defines the language tag key in the localizations property.¶
This specification does not define a single standard conversion rule for how to convert the property values. Instead, building the localizations value is implementation-specific.¶
Two options to populate the localizations property are:¶
Generally, localizations only localize properties that are present in the non-localized version of this Card. Figure 3 illustrates this.¶
As a special case, if one or more vCard properties of the same type do not have the LANGUAGE parameter set, add them to the non-localized Card. Convert any with LANGUAGE parameters to the localizations property. Figure 4 illustrates this.¶
The LABEL parameter (Section 6.3.1 of [RFC6350]) on an ADR property converts to the Address object's full property (Section 2.5.1.1 of [RFC9553]).¶
The LEVEL parameter (Section 3.2 of [RFC6715]) converts to the PersonalInfo object's level property (Section 2.8.4 of [RFC9553]). If this parameter is set on the EXPERTISE property, then its values convert as follows:¶
In all other cases, the values convert verbatim, but lowercase MUST be used for the JSContact value.¶
The MEDIATYPE parameter (Section 5.7 of [RFC6350]) converts to the Resource object's mediaType property (Section 1.4.4 of [RFC9553]).¶
The PHONETIC parameter (Section 4.6 of [RFC9554]) converts to the Name (Section 2.2.1 of [RFC9553]) and Address (Section 2.5.1 of [RFC9553]) objects' phoneticSystem property unless the parameter value is "script", in which case the phoneticSystem property is not set.¶
The value of the SCRIPT parameter converts to the phoneticScript property (see Section 2.3.19).¶
The related N or ADR property is defined by the vCard ALTID parameter. The conversion rules for the N (Section 2.5.5) and ADR (Section 2.6.1) properties define how the vCard components convert to JSContact.¶
The component values of the property on which the PHONETIC parameter is set convert to the respective NameComponent or AddressComponent objects' phonetic properties.¶
If more than one property has the PHONETIC parameter set and relates to the same property, then they convert to the Card object's localizations property according to their LANGUAGE parameter values as outlined in Section 2.3.11.¶
The PID parameter (Section 5.5 of [RFC6350]) converts to the vCardParams property; see Section 2.15.2.¶
The PREF parameter (Section 5.3 of [RFC6350]) converts to the pref property of the derived JSContact object.¶
The PROP-ID parameter (Section 4.7 of [RFC9554]) converts to the Id-typed key of the derived JSContact object.¶
The SCRIPT parameter (Section 4.8 of [RFC9554]) converts to the Name (Section 2.2.1 of [RFC9553]) or Address (Section 2.5.1 of [RFC9553]) objects' phoneticScript property.¶
Also see Section 2.3.15.¶
The SERVICE-TYPE parameter (Section 4.9 of [RFC9554]) converts to the OnlineService object's service property (Section 2.3.2 of [RFC9553]).¶
The SORT-AS parameter (Section 5.9 of [RFC6350]) converts to the Name, Organization, and OrgUnit objects' sortAs properties.¶
The TYPE parameter (Section 5.6 of [RFC6350]) converts to either the contexts property or the kind property, as defined in later sections. If not otherwise specified, the vCard "home" and "work" parameter values convert to the JSContact "private" and "work" contexts, respectively.¶
The TZ parameter (Section 5.11 of [RFC6350]) on an ADR property converts to the Address object's timeZone property (Section 2.5.1.1 of [RFC9553]). Also see the conversion of the TZ property in Section 2.8.2.¶
The USERNAME parameter (Section 4.10 of [RFC9554]) converts to the OnlineService object's user property (Section 2.3.2 of [RFC9553]).¶
The BEGIN and END properties do not convert to IANA-registered properties in JSContact.¶
The KIND property (Section 6.1.4 of [RFC6350]) converts to the kind property (Figure 7). Allowed values are those described in Section 6.1.4 of [RFC6350] and extended with the values declared in [RFC6473] and [RFC6869].¶
The SOURCE property (Section 6.1.3 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Directory object (Section 2.6.2 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's directories property (Figure 8). The Directory object's kind property is set to "entry". The uri property is set to the SOURCE property value.¶
The PREF and MEDIATYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The XML property (Section 6.1.5 of [RFC6350]) converts to the vCardProps property; see Section 2.15.1.¶
The following properties all convert to Anniversary objects in the Card object's anniversaries property (Figure 9):¶
BDAY and BIRTHPLACE convert to an Anniversary object (Section 2.8.1 of [RFC9553]) having the date and place properties set. The kind property is set to "birth".¶
DEATHDATE and DEATHPLACE convert to an Anniversary object having the date and place properties set. The Anniversary object's kind property is set to "death".¶
ANNIVERSARY converts to the Anniversary object's date property. The Anniversary object's kind property is set to "wedding".¶
If the BIRTHPLACE or DEATHPLACE property value is of type URI using the "geo:" URI scheme, then it converts to the Address object's coordinates property. If the value type is TEXT, then it converts to the Address object's full property. Otherwise, it converts to the vCardProps property; see Section 2.15.1.¶
The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters of both the BIRTHPLACE and DEATHPLACE properties convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The FN property (Section 6.2.1 of [RFC6350]) converts to the Name object's full property (Figure 10). If the LANGUAGE parameter is set, then the FN property converts as outlined in Section 2.3.11. In the unexpected case where the vCard contains more than one FN property without the LANGUAGE parameter, convert the FN property that has the least parameters. If multiple such FN properties are present, choose any of them. All other FN properties convert to the vCardProps (Section 2.15.1) property.¶
The GENDER property (Section 6.2.7 of [RFC6350]) does not convert to an IANA-registered property in JSContact. To convert this property, see Section 2.15.1. Alternatively, the Card object's speakToAs property defines how to address and refer to an individual represented by the Card, as do the newly defined vCard GRAMGENDER and PRONOUNS properties of [RFC9554].¶
The GRAMGENDER property (Section 3.2 of [RFC9554]) converts to the SpeakToAs object's grammaticalGender property (Figure 11).¶
The PRONOUNS property (Section 3.4 of [RFC9554]) converts to the SpeakToAs object's pronouns property (Figure 11).¶
The N property (Section 6.2.2 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Name object (Section 2.2.1 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's name property. Each component in the N property structured value converts to a NameComponent in the Name object's components property. The following table shows this relation:¶
N component | NameComponent kind | Remarks |
---|---|---|
Family name | surname | To vCard: add any "surname2" NameComponent to the Family name component, after all "surname" values. From vCard: ignore any value that also occurs in the Secondary surname component. |
Given name | given | |
Additional name | given2 | |
Honorific prefix | title | |
Honorific suffix | credential | To vCard: add any "generation" NameComponent to the Honorific suffix component. From vCard: ignore any value that also occurs in the Generation component. |
Secondary surname | surname2 | |
Generation | generation |
If the JSCOMPS (Section 3.3.1) parameter is set, then the Name object's isOrdered property value is "true", and the defaultSeparator property and any "separator" NameComponent objects are set according to the parameter value. The order in the components property MUST adhere to the order of the JSCOMPS parameter value.¶
If the JSCOMPS parameter is not set, then the Name object's isOrdered property value is "false", and the defaultSeparator property MUST NOT be set. The order in the components property MUST follow the order of values in the N structured value when read from left to right.¶
If the SORT-AS parameter is set, then its structured value converts to the Name object's sortAs property according to Table 1. An empty or non-existent component value indicates that no sort is defined for this kind.¶
See Section 3.3.1 for examples of using the JSCOMPS parameter for vCard-structured property values.¶
The NICKNAME property (Section 6.2.3 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Nickname object (Section 2.2.2 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's nicknames property (Figure 13). The name property is set to the NICKNAME property value.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The PHOTO property (Section 6.2.4 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Media object (Section 2.6.4 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's media property (Figure 14). The Media object's kind property is set to "photo" and the uri property is set to the PHOTO value.¶
The PREF and MEDIATYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The ADR property (Section 6.3.1 of [RFC6350]) converts to an Address object (Section 2.5.1.1 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's addresses property. Each component in the ADR-structured property value converts to an AddressComponent in the Address object's components property.¶
[RFC9554] defines new components for the ADR property. Implementations SHOULD set these new components, even if all their values are the empty string.¶
The following table shows how the ADR component and AddressComponent kind relate:¶
ADR component | AddressComponent kind | Remarks |
---|---|---|
post office box | postOfficeBox | [RFC6350] recommends that this component not be set, but this is now disputable given the new components. Instead, set this component and use the new ADR value format defined in [RFC9554]. |
extended address | apartment |
To vCard: set the values of the following components:¶ From vCard: ignore if the ADR structured value is of the format defined in [RFC9554]. Otherwise, convert to "apartment".¶ |
street address | name |
To vCard: set the values of the following components:¶ From vCard: ignore if the ADR structured value is of the format defined in [RFC9554]. Otherwise, convert to "name".¶ |
locality | locality | |
region | region | |
postal code | postcode | |
apartment | apartment | Defined in [RFC9554]. |
block | block | Defined in [RFC9554]. |
building | building | Defined in [RFC9554]. |
direction | direction | Defined in [RFC9554]. |
district | district | Defined in [RFC9554]. |
floor | floor | Defined in [RFC9554]. |
landmark | landmark | Defined in [RFC9554]. |
room | room | Defined in [RFC9554]. |
street number | number | Defined in [RFC9554]. |
subdistrict | subdistrict | Defined in [RFC9554]. |
If the JSCOMPS (Section 3.3.1) parameter is set, then the Address object's isOrdered property value is "true", and the defaultSeparator property and any separator name components are set according to the parameter value. The order in the components property MUST adhere to the order of the JSCOMPS parameter value.¶
If the JSCOMPS parameter is not set, then the Address object's isOrdered property value is "false", and the defaultSeparator property MUST NOT be set. The order in the components property MUST follow the order of values in the ADR structured value when read from left to right.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3. The ADR-specific values of the TYPE parameter defined in Sections 5.1 and 5.2 of [RFC9554] convert to the corresponding entries of the contexts property as defined in Section 2.5.1 of [RFC9553].¶
The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3. Each possible language-dependent alternative converts to an entry of the PatchObject where the key references the full property.¶
See Section 3.3.1 for examples of using the JSCOMPS parameter for vCard-structured property values.¶
The EMAIL property (Section 6.4.2 of [RFC6350]) converts to an EmailAddress object (Section 2.3.1 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's emails property (Figure 16). The EmailAddress object's address property is set to the EMAIL value.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The IMPP property (Section 6.4.3 of [RFC6350]) converts to an OnlineService object (Section 2.3.2 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's onlineServices property (Figure 17). The vCardName property is set to "impp", and the uri property is set to the IMPP value.¶
The SERVICE-TYPE, USERNAME, PREF, and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The LANG property (Section 6.4.4 of [RFC6350]) converts to a LanguagePref object (Section 2.3.4 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's preferredLanguages property (Figure 18). The LANG property value converts to the LanguagePref object's language property value.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The LANGUAGE property (Section 3.3 of [RFC9554]) converts to the Card object's language property (Figure 19).¶
The TEL property (Section 6.4.1 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Phone object (Section 2.3.3 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's phones property (Figure 21).¶
The TEL-specific values of the TYPE parameter convert to the features property keys as outlined in Table 3. Note that Section 6.4.1 of [RFC6350] defines the default type to be "voice", but the default Phone features property is absent by default. Accordingly, an implementation SHOULD only set the Phone object's features property if the TEL property actually has a TEL-specific TYPE parameter set.¶
TYPE value | Phone feature |
---|---|
cell | mobile |
fax | fax |
main-number | main-number |
pager | pager |
text | text |
textphone | textphone |
video | video |
voice | voice |
The value of the TEL property converts to the Phone object's number property.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The GEO property (Section 6.5.2 of [RFC6350]) converts to the Address object's coordinates property (Section 2.5.1 of [RFC9553]). Also see Section 2.8.3 to determine which Address object instance to convert to.¶
The TZ property (Section 6.5.1 of [RFC6350]) converts an Address object (Section 2.5.1 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's addresses property.¶
A value of type TEXT converts to the Address object's timeZone property.¶
A value of type UTC-OFFSET converts to the Address object's timeZone property if the offset has zero minutes and the hour offset is between -12 and +14, both inclusively. Note that:¶
For such property values, also see Section 2.8.3 to determine which Address object instance to convert to.¶
Any other value of type UTC-OFFSET or URI does not convert to an IANA-registered property in JSContact. To convert such property, see Section 2.15.1.¶
In vCard, the properties ADR, GEO, and TZ occur independently of each other. In JSContact, they all convert to properties of an Address object. It is implementation-specific if these vCard properties convert to separate address instances in JSContact or if some or all of them convert to the same address. That being said, implementations MUST convert the properties to the same address for the following cases:¶
The CONTACT-URI property (Section 2.1 of [RFC8605]) converts to a Link object (Section 2.6.3 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's links property (Figure 22). The Link object's kind property is set to "contact" and the uri property is set to the CONTACT-URI property value.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The LOGO property (Section 6.6.3 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Media object (Section 2.6.4 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's media property (Figure 23). The Media object's kind property is set to "logo" and the uri property is set to the LOGO property value.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The MEMBER property (Section 6.6.5 of [RFC6350]) converts to the Card object's members property (Figure 24). Each MEMBER property value is a key in the members property. The PREF parameter (Section 5.3 of [RFC6350]) does not convert to JSContact.¶
The ORG property (Section 6.6.4 of [RFC6350]) converts to an Organization object (Section 2.2.3 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's organizations property (Figure 25). The Organization object's name property is set to the ORG property organizational name component. The Organization object's units property is an array of OrgUnit objects that each contain an organizational unit name component value of the ORG property value.¶
Implementations MAY allow representation of organizational units without the organizational name. In this case, the first component of the ORG value MUST be an empty string (e.g., ORG:;DepartmentA).¶
The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The first item of the comma-separated SORT-AS parameter value converts to the sortAs property of the Organization object. The subsequent items convert to the sortAs property of the corresponding OrgUnit object.¶
The TYPE parameter converts according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The TITLE (Section 6.6.1 of [RFC6350]) and ROLE (Section 6.6.2 of [RFC6350]) properties convert to a Title object (Section 2.2.5 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's titles property (Figure 27). The Title object's kind property is set to "title" or "role" for the TITLE and ROLE vCard properties, respectively. The name property is set to the vCard property value.¶
The value of the organizationId property can be derived if the TITLE or ROLE property is a member of a vCard property group and if exactly one other ORG property is also a part of that group.¶
The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The EXPERTISE property (Section 2.1 of [RFC6715]) converts to a PersonalInfo object (Section 2.8.4 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's personalInfo property (Figure 28). The PersonalInfo object's kind property is set to "expertise".¶
The INDEX and LEVEL parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The HOBBY property (Section 2.2 of [RFC6715]) converts to a PersonalInfo object (Section 2.8.4 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's personalInfo property (Figure 29). The PersonalInfo object's kind property is set to "hobby".¶
The INDEX and LEVEL parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The INTEREST property (Section 2.3 of [RFC6715]) converts to a PersonalInfo object (Section 2.8.4 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's personalInfo property (Figure 30). The PersonalInfo object's kind property is set to "interest".¶
The INDEX and LEVEL parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The ORG-DIRECTORY property (Section 2.4 of [RFC6715]) [RFC6715] converts to a Directory object (Section 2.6.2 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's directories property (Figure 31). The Directory object's kind property is set to "directory". The uri property is set to the ORG-DIRECTORY property value.¶
The INDEX, PREF, and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The CATEGORIES property (Section 6.7.1 of [RFC6350]) converts to a set of entries of the Card object's keywords property (Figure 32). The keys are the comma-separated text values of the CATEGORIES property.¶
In this case, the PREF parameter does not have a JSContact counterpart; however, the implementors MAY insert the entries by order of preference.¶
The CLIENTPIDMAP property (Section 6.7.7 of [RFC6350]) converts to the vCardProps (Section 2.15.1) property.¶
The CREATED property (Section 3.1 of [RFC9554]) converts to the Card object's created property (Figure 33).¶
The NOTE property (Section 6.7.2 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Note object (Section 2.8.3 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's notes property (Figure 34).¶
The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The PRODID property (Section 6.7.3 of [RFC6350]) converts to the Card object's prodId property (Figure 35).¶
The REV property (Section 6.7.4 of [RFC6350]) converts to the Card object's updated property (Figure 36).¶
The SOUND property (Section 6.7.5 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Media object (Section 2.6.4 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's media property (Figure 37). The Media object's kind property is set to "sound" and the uri property is set to the SOUND value.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The UID property (Section 6.7.6 of [RFC6350]) converts to the Card object's uid property (Figure 38).¶
The URL property (Section 6.7.8 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Link object (Section 2.6.3 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's links property (Figure 39). The Link object's uri property is set to the URL value.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The VERSION property (Section 6.7.9 of [RFC6350]) converts to the vCardProps (Section 2.15.1) property.¶
The X-ABLabel property is experimental but widely in use in existing vCard data. It converts to the label property of a JSContact object. The X-ABLabel property is preceded by a vCard property group name, and the label converts to the JSContact object, which was converted from a vCard property of the same group.¶
The group name is not preserved; implementations are free to choose any unique group name when converting back to vCard. For an example on how to preserve the group name, see Section 2.3.9.¶
The KEY property (Section 6.8.1 of [RFC6350]) converts to a CryptoKey object (Section 2.6.1 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's cryptoKeys property (Figure 41). The CryptoKey object's uri property is set to the KEY property value.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The CALADRURI property (Section 6.9.2 of [RFC6350]) converts to a SchedulingAddress object (Section 2.4.2 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's schedulingAddresses property (Figure 42). The SchedulingAddress object's uri property is set to the CALADRURI value.¶
The PREF parameter (Section 5.3 of [RFC6350]) converts according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The CALURI property (Section 6.9.3 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Calendar object (Section 2.4.1 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's calendars property (Figure 43). The Calendar object's kind property is set to "calendar" and the uri property is set to the CALURI value.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
The FBURL property (Section 6.9.1 of [RFC6350]) converts to a Calendar object (Section 2.4.1 of [RFC9553]) in the Card object's calendars property (Figure 44). The Calendar object's kind property is set to "freeBusy" and the uri property is set to the FBURL value.¶
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in Section 2.3.¶
Extended properties and parameters convert as specified in Section 2.15.¶
vCards may contain properties or parameters for which no IANA-registered JSContact property is defined. For example, a vCard may contain properties and parameters of which the semantics or purposes are unknown to the implementation; see Section 6.10 of [RFC6350].¶
This section defines JSContact properties by which such vCard properties and parameters MAY be represented in JSContact. Implementations MAY choose to convert differently if they deem that more appropriate.¶
This illustrates how to convert a vCard extension property:¶
This illustrates how to convert a vCard extension parameter:¶
Both vCard IMPP and SOCIALPROFILE convert to an OnlineService object (Section 2.3.2 of [RFC9553]) in JSContact. The vCardName property value indicates that the vCard source element was IMPP as follows:¶
A Card object converts to vCard by applying the reverse rules of converting vCard to JSContact. In addition to those listed in Appendix A, the following rules apply:¶
The full property of the name property in JSContact is optional, but the FN property is mandatory in vCard. The following rules apply:¶
JSContact objects may contain properties for which no IANA-registered vCard property is defined. For example, a JSContact object may contain vendor-specific properties of which the semantics or purpose are unknown.¶
This specification defines the new JSPROP (Section 3.2.1) vCard property and JSPTR (Section 3.3.2) vCard parameter by which such JSContact properties MAY be represented in vCard. Implementations MAY choose to convert differently if they deem that more appropriate.¶
This property converts an arbitrary JSContact property from and to vCard. The vCard property value is the JSON-encoded value of the JSContact property, represented as a TEXT value. The format of the JSON value MUST be compact, e.g., without insignificant whitespace as defined in Section 2 of [RFC8259]. The value of the JSPTR parameter points to the JSContact property within the Card.¶
The root of the JSON pointer is always the Card object that this vCard converts to, irrespective if the JSON pointer starts with the SOLIDUS (U+002F) character. The pointer MUST NOT reference into an array.¶
All JSPROP properties in a vCard together form a PatchObject as defined in [RFC9553]. The value of its JSPTR parameter corresponds to a key in the PatchObject; the value of the JSPROP property corresponds to the value for that key. When converting from vCard to JSContact, the PatchObject MUST only be applied after all other vCard properties have already been converted. The PatchObject MUST be valid, including the restriction that an invalid PatchObject MUST NOT be applied.¶
This property is defined by the following notation:¶
jsprop = "JSPROP" jsprop-param ":" TEXT jsprop-param = *( ; The following are REQUIRED and MUST NOT ; occur more than once ( ";" jsptr-param ) / ; see next section ( ";" "VALUE" "=" "TEXT") ; ; The following is OPTIONAL ; and MAY occur more than once. ; (";" other-param) ; )¶
This illustrates how to convert a property at the top level in a Card object that is unknown to the implementation.¶
This illustrates how to convert a vendor-specific property at the top level of a Card object. Note the required use of quoted string for the JSPTR value, which allows the path to include the COLON (U+003A) character.¶
This illustrates how to convert a vendor-specific property at a nested level in a Card object using a path relative to the Card object. Although not recommended, the property name includes the SOLIDUS (U+002F) character, which requires escaping in the JSON pointer.¶
The JSCOMPS parameter value facilitates converting name and address components between JSContact and vCard. It preserves the order of the components of the JSContact property and contains the verbatim values of separator components.¶
If this parameter is set and its value is valid (see later), then implementations MUST set the isOrdered property of the Name or Address object to "true". Otherwise, they MUST set the isOrdered property value to "false".¶
The JSCOMPS parameter value is a structured type value. Its value MUST be quoted. The parameter value consists of a sequence of entries, separated by the SEMICOLON character (U+003B). The first entry defines the value of the defaultSeparator property. If it is the empty string, then no default separator is defined. Otherwise, the first entry MUST be a separator entry. All following entries processed in order result in an ordered list of JSContact components and MUST be one of the following two kinds:¶
A positional. This refers to a component value in the vCard structured value. A position consists of the numeric index of a component in the structured value, optionally followed by a COMMA (U+002C) character and the non-zero index of a value within that component. The zero index selects the first component or value, respectively. The second index is zero by default, in which case it MUST be omitted (as well as the leading COMMA).¶
The resulting JSContact component is formed by determining its kind by the position in the vCard structured value. The component value is the verbatim value of the vCard component. Figures 51 and 52 illustrate this by example.¶
A separator. This contains the verbatim value of a separator component. It starts with the LATIN SMALL LETTER S (U+0073) character, followed by the COMMA (U+002C) character, followed by zero or more "param-value" characters (see Section 3.3 of [RFC6350]), where the COMMA (U+002C) and SEMICOLON (U+003B) characters MUST be escaped according to the rules defined in Section 3.4 of [RFC6350]. Figure 53 illustrates this by example.¶
The resulting JSContact component is formed by setting its kind to "separator" and its value to the verbatim value of the entry.¶
A JSCOMPS parameter value is valid if and only if:¶
The count of positional entries equals the count of deduplicated component values. Deduplication is required because some values may occur in both their designated and backwards-compatible components in the vCard property value:¶
jscomps-param = "JSCOMPS" "=" DQUOTE [jscomps-entry-sep ] ";" jscomps-entrylist DQUOTE jscomps-entrylist = jscomps-entry *(";" jscomps-entry) jscomps-entry = jscomps-entry-pos / jscomps-entry-sep jscomps-entry-pos = 1*DIGIT [ "," 1*DIGIT ] jscomps-entry-sep = "s" "," jscomps-entry-verb jscomps-entry-verb = *QSAFE-CHAR ; encode according to RFC 6868¶
The following example demonstrates the use of positional entries for the name "Jane Doe". The given name is ordered before the surname. No secondary index is required for either positional because both are zero.¶
The following example demonstrates a secondary positional index. The "Jr." generation marker only counts once because it occurs in both the designated generation component and the backwards-compatible honorific suffixes component.¶
The following example demonstrates the use of separator entries for the (shortened for brevity) address "54321 Oak St, Reston". The first entry defines the default separator to be ", ". The second and fourth positional entries are separated with the separator value " ". For backwards compatibility, the street address component of the ADR property contains both the street number and name, but it is not referred to in the JSCOMPS parameter and does not contribute to the count of values.¶
This parameter has a single value that MUST be a valid JSON pointer as defined in [RFC6901]. Note that the value MUST be quoted according to the "param-value" ABNF in [RFC6350].¶
jsptr-param = "JSPTR" "=" param-value ; also see param-value in RFC 6350, Section 3.3¶
This illustrates a simple example. For further examples, see Section 3.2.1.¶
JSPROP;JSPTR="example.com:foo":"bar"¶
This specification defines how to convert between the JSContact and vCard formats. The security considerations for parsing and formatting such data apply and are outlined in Section 4 of [RFC9553] and Section 9 of [RFC6350].¶
IANA has added the following entry to the "vCard Properties" registry, as defined in Section 10.3.1 of [RFC6350].¶
Namespace | Property | Reference |
---|---|---|
JSPROP | RFC 9555, Section 3.2.1 |
IANA has added the following entry to the "vCard Parameters" registry, as defined in Section 10.3.2 of [RFC6350].¶
Namespace | Parameter | Reference |
---|---|---|
JSPTR | RFC 9555, Section 3.3.2 |
IANA has added the following entries to the "JSContact Properties" registry. Note that the Since Version is 1.0, the Until Version is not set, and the Change Controller is IETF for all of these properties.¶
Property Name | Property Type | Property Context | Intended Usage | Reference/Description |
---|---|---|---|---|
vCardName | String | Any JSContact object | common | RFC 9555, Section 2.15.3 |
vCardParams | String[String|String[]] | Any JSContact object | common | RFC 9555, Section 2.15.2 |
vCardProps | JCardProp[] | Card | common | RFC 9555, Section 2.15.1 |
IANA has added the following entry to the "JSContact Types" registry. Note that the Since Version is 1.0, the Until Version is not set, and the Change Controller is IETF for this type.¶
Type Name | Intended Usage | Reference/Description |
---|---|---|
JCardProp | common | RFC 9555, Section 2.15.1 |
Table 8 lists the relevant document sections for each JSContact type and property.¶
JSContact Type | Property Name | Relevant Section(s) |
---|---|---|
Address | @type | not applicable |
Address | components | Sections 2.6.1 and 3.3.1 |
Address | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
Address | coordinates | Sections 2.3.8 and 2.8.1 |
Address | country | Section 2.6.1 |
Address | countryCode | Section 2.6.1 |
Address | defaultSeparator | Sections 2.6.1 and 3.3.1 |
Address | full | Section 2.6.1 |
Address | isOrdered | Sections 2.6.1 and 3.3.1 |
Address | locality | Section 2.6.1 |
Address | phoneticScript | Sections 2.3.15 and 2.3.19 |
Address | phoneticSystem | Section 2.3.15 |
Address | postcode | Section 2.6.1 |
Address | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
Address | region | Section 2.6.1 |
Address | timeZone | Sections 2.3.23 and 2.8.2 |
AddressComponent | phonetic | Section 2.3.15 |
Anniversary | @type | not applicable |
Anniversary | date | Section 2.5.1 |
Anniversary | kind | Section 2.5.1 |
Anniversary | place | Section 2.5.1 |
Author | @type | not applicable |
Author | name | Section 2.3.3 |
Author | uri | Section 2.3.2 |
Calendar | @type | not applicable |
Calendar | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
Calendar | kind | Sections 2.13.2 and 2.13.3 |
Calendar | label | Section 2.11.11 |
Calendar | mediaType | Section 2.3.14 |
Calendar | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
Calendar | uri | Sections 2.13.2 and 2.13.3 |
Card | @type | not applicable |
Card | @version | not applicable |
Card | addresses | Section 2.6.1 |
Card | anniversaries | Section 2.5.1 |
Card | calendars | Sections 2.13.2 and 2.13.3 |
Card | created | Section 2.11.3 |
Card | directories | Sections 2.4.3 and 2.10.4 |
Card | emails | Section 2.7.1 |
Card | keywords | Section 2.11.1 |
Card | kind | Section 2.4.2 |
Card | language | Section 2.7.4 |
Card | links | Sections 2.9.1 and 2.11.9 |
Card | localizations | Section 2.3.11 |
Card | media | Sections 2.5.7, 2.9.2, and 2.11.7 |
Card | members | Section 2.9.3 |
Card | name | Section 2.5.5 |
Card | nicknames | Section 2.5.6 |
Card | notes | Section 2.11.4 |
Card | onlineServices | Section 2.7.2 |
Card | organizations | Section 2.9.4 |
Card | personalInfo | Sections 2.10.1, 2.10.2, and 2.10.3 |
Card | phones | Section 2.7.6 |
Card | preferredLanguages | Section 2.7.3 |
Card | prodId | Section 2.11.5 |
Card | relatedTo | Section 2.9.5 |
Card | schedulingAddresses | Section 2.13.1 |
Card | speakToAs | Section 2.5.4 |
Card | titles | Section 2.9.6 |
Card | uid | Section 2.11.8 |
Card | updated | Section 2.11.6 |
CryptoKey | @type | not applicable |
CryptoKey | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
CryptoKey | kind | not applicable |
CryptoKey | label | Section 2.11.11 |
CryptoKey | mediaType | Section 2.3.14 |
CryptoKey | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
CryptoKey | uri | Section 2.12.1 |
Directory | @type | not applicable |
Directory | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
Directory | kind | Sections 2.4.3 and 2.10.4 |
Directory | label | Section 2.11.11 |
Directory | listAs | Section 2.3.10 |
Directory | mediaType | Section 2.3.14 |
Directory | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
Directory | uri | Sections 2.4.3 and 2.10.4 |
EmailAddress | @type | not applicable |
EmailAddress | address | Section 2.7.1 |
EmailAddress | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
EmailAddress | label | Section 2.11.11 |
EmailAddress | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
LanguagePref | @type | not applicable |
LanguagePref | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
LanguagePref | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
Link | @type | not applicable |
Link | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
Link | kind | Section 2.9.1 |
Link | label | Section 2.11.11 |
Link | mediaType | Section 2.3.14 |
Link | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
Link | uri | Sections 2.9.1 and 2.11.9 |
Media | @type | not applicable |
Media | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
Media | kind | Sections 2.5.7, 2.9.2, and 2.11.7 |
Media | label | Section 2.11.11 |
Media | mediaType | Section 2.3.14 |
Media | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
Media | uri | Sections 2.5.7, 2.9.2, and 2.11.7 |
Name | @type | not applicable |
Name | components | Sections 2.5.5 and 3.3.1 |
Name | defaultSeparator | Sections 2.5.5 and 3.3.1 |
Name | full | Section 2.5.2 |
Name | phoneticScript | Sections 2.3.15 and 2.3.19 |
Name | phoneticSystem | Section 2.3.15 |
Name | isOrdered | Sections 2.5.5 and 3.3.1 |
Name | sortAs | Section 2.3.21 |
NameComponent | @type | not applicable |
NameComponent | kind | Section 2.5.5 |
NameComponent | phonetic | Section 2.3.15 |
NameComponent | value | Section 2.5.5 |
Nickname | @type | not applicable |
Nickname | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
Nickname | name | Section 2.5.5 |
Nickname | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
Note | @type | not applicable |
Note | author | Sections 2.3.2 and 2.3.3 |
Note | created | Section 2.3.6 |
Note | note | Section 2.11.4 |
OnlineService | @type | not applicable |
OnlineService | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
OnlineService | label | Section 2.11.11 |
OnlineService | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
OnlineService | service | Section 2.3.20 |
OnlineService | uri | Sections 2.7.2 and 2.7.5 |
OnlineService | user | Section 2.3.24 |
OrgUnit | @type | not applicable |
OrgUnit | name | Section 2.9.4 |
OrgUnit | sortAs | Section 2.3.21 |
Organization | @type | not applicable |
Organization | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
Organization | name | Section 2.9.4 |
Organization | sortAs | Section 2.3.21 |
Organization | units | Section 2.9.4 |
PartialDate | @type | not applicable |
PartialDate | calendarScale | Section 2.3.4 |
PartialDate | day | Section 2.2.2 |
PartialDate | month | Section 2.2.2 |
PartialDate | year | Section 2.2.2 |
PatchObject | @type | not applicable |
PersonalInfo | @type | not applicable |
PersonalInfo | kind | Sections 2.10.1, 2.10.2, and 2.10.3 |
PersonalInfo | listAs | Section 2.3.10 |
PersonalInfo | level | Section 2.3.13 |
PersonalInfo | value | Sections 2.10.1, 2.10.2, and 2.10.3 |
Phone | @type | not applicable |
Phone | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
Phone | features | Section 2.7.6 |
Phone | label | Section 2.11.11 |
Phone | number | Section 2.7.6 |
Phone | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
Pronouns | @type | not applicable |
Pronouns | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
Pronouns | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
Pronouns | pronouns | Section 2.5.4 |
Relation | @type | not applicable |
Relation | relation | Section 2.9.5 |
Resource | @type | not applicable |
SchedulingAddress | @type | not applicable |
SchedulingAddress | contexts | Section 2.3.22 |
SchedulingAddress | label | Section 2.11.11 |
SchedulingAddress | pref | Section 2.3.17 |
SchedulingAddress | uri | Section 2.13.1 |
SpeakToAs | @type | not applicable |
SpeakToAs | grammaticalGender | Section 2.5.4 |
SpeakToAs | pronouns | Section 2.5.4 |
AddressComponent | @type | not applicable |
AddressComponent | kind | Section 2.6.1 |
AddressComponent | value | Section 2.6.1 |
Timestamp | @type | not applicable |
Timestamp | utc | Section 2.2.2 |
Title | @type | not applicable |
Title | kind | Section 2.9.6 |
Title | name | Section 2.9.6 |
Title | organizationId | Section 2.9.6 |
The definition and examples of the PHONETIC (Section 2.3.15) and SCRIPT (Section 2.3.19) parameters are based on the initial draft version of [vOBJECT].¶