]> JSContact: Converting from and to vCard IIT-CNR/Registro.it
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art calext JSON contacts vCard jCard 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 document obsoletes RFC 9555 and updates its definitions for JSContact version "2.0". Differences from RFC 9555 are documented in .
Introduction
Motivation The JSContact data model and format aims to be an alternative to the widely used vCard standard and jCard format . 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).
Notational Conventions 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 when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.
Relation to obsolete RFC 9555 This document obsoletes . For contents that remain unchanged, it includes all verified errata for the obsoleted document. The conversion rules are updated for JSContact version "2.0", defined in . replaces the JSContact "vCardProps", "vCardParams" and "vCardParam" properties originally defined in with the new "vCard" property. The new property allows for edge cases where the former elements were insufficient. For vCard, replaces the PROP-ID parameter with the new JSID parameter. Both changes align the conversion-specific elements of vCard and JSContact with those defined for iCalendar and JSCalendar in , allowing for code reuse for implementations that support these formats.
ABNF Notations The ABNF definitions in this document use the notations of . ABNF rules not defined in this document are defined in either (such as the ABNF for CRLF, WSP, DQUOTE, VCHAR, ALPHA, and DIGIT) or .
Converting vCard to JSContact This section contains the conversion rules from the vCard to the JSContact Card. It follows the same structure as vCard v4 . Properties and parameters of vCard extension RFCs, including those described in "vCard Format Extension for JSContact" , have been added to the appropriate subsections.
General Rules
The Card uid Property The UID property converts to the "uid" property of the Card object, see . In contrast to JSContact version "2.0", the Card "uid" property was mandatory in version "1.0". Implementations that convert a vCard without a UID property to a Card of version "2.0" or higher MUST NOT generate a unique identifier as value for the uid property. When converting a vCard without UID property to JSContact version "1.0", implementations MUST generate a value for the uid property. Generating unique identifiers is implementation-specific. An implementation SHOULD generate the same value when generating the same Card multiple times. describes why this is problematic. Consequently, implementations SHOULD NOT convert to version "1.0" Card objects.
Choosing Identifiers Multivalued properties in JSContact are typically represented as a JSON object where the object keys are of the Id type () and the object values are the converted vCard property. In the absence of the JSID parameter (see ), 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 . For example, this could be an incrementing number across all identifier keys in the Card object or only unique within one JSON object.
vCard Value Data Types
BOOLEAN The BOOLEAN type () converts to the JSContact Boolean type ().
DATE, TIME, DATE-TIME, DATE-AND-OR-TIME, and TIMESTAMP The TIMESTAMP type () converts to the UTCDateTime type (), unless for anniversaries. For anniversaries, it converts to the Timestamp type (). The DATE type () converts to a PartialDate object () 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 .
  • TIME ()
  • DATE-TIME ()
  • DATE-AND-OR-TIME ()
  • DATE type values that only define a month or day (but not both)
INTEGER The INTEGER type () converts to the JSContact Int and UnsignedInt types ().
FLOAT The FLOAT type () converts to the JSContact Number type ().
LANGUAGE-TAG The LANGUAGE-TAG type () converts to the JSContact String type (). The value MUST be a language tag as defined in .
TEXT The TEXT type () converts to the JSContact String type ().
URI The URI type () converts to the JSContact String type (). The value MUST be a URI as defined in
UTC-OFFSET The UTC-OFFSET type () either converts to a String value containing an IANA Time Zone Database entry name (see ) or does not convert to any JSContact type. For the latter, vCard properties or parameters having such values convert as defined in .
vCard Parameters 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 .
ALTID The ALTID parameter () 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 . To preserve the verbatim value of the ALTID parameter, set the JSContact properties defined in .
AUTHOR The AUTHOR parameter () on a NOTE property converts to the Author object's uri property (). That Author object is set as the value of the Note object's author property ().
AUTHOR-NAME The AUTHOR-NAME parameter () on a NOTE property converts to the Author object's name property (). That Author object is set as the value of the Note object's author property.
CALSCALE The CALSCALE parameter () set on a BDAY, DEATHDATE, or ANNIVERSARY property converts to the PartialDate object's calendarScale property ().
CC The CC parameter () on an ADR property converts to the Address object's countryCode property ().
CREATED The CREATED parameter () on a NOTE property converts to the Note object's created property ().
DERIVED The DERIVED parameter () 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.
GEO The GEO parameter () set on an ADR property converts to the Address object's coordinates property ().
GROUP The GROUP parameter () 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 MAY preserve the original group name in the "parameters" property of the VCardProperty object (.
Example of How to Preserve the Group Name for a Known Property
Example of How to Preserve the Group Name for an Unknown Property
INDEX The INDEX parameter () set on the EXPERTISE, HOBBY, INTEREST, and ORG-DIRECTORY properties converts to the PersonalInfo () and Directory () objects' listAs property.
LANGUAGE The LANGUAGE parameter () converts to an entry in the Card object's localizations property () 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:
  • One Patch per Property: For each vCard property with a LANGUAGE parameter, set the complete path in the PatchObject to the JSContact property that the vCard property converts to. The value of the patch is the converted property value. This is simple to process and adequate if the vCard only contains a few properties with the LANGUAGE parameter.
  • Bundle Patches by Parent: If a PatchObject contains multiple paths that have the same parent paths, then it might be possible to combine these patches into one patch that patches the parent property. This is possible if the property in the Card is patched in its entirety.
Generally, localizations only localize properties that are present in the non-localized version of this Card. illustrates this.
LANGUAGE Conversion Example: One Dominant Language
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. illustrates this.
LANGUAGE Conversion Example: Property without Language
LABEL The LABEL parameter () on an ADR property converts to the Address object's full property ().
LEVEL The LEVEL parameter () converts to the PersonalInfo object's level property (). If this parameter is set on the EXPERTISE property, then its values convert as follows:
  • "beginner" converts to "low";
  • "average" converts to "medium"; and
  • "expert" converts to "high".
In all other cases, the values convert verbatim, but lowercase MUST be used for the JSContact value.
MEDIATYPE The MEDIATYPE parameter () converts to the Resource object's mediaType property ().
PHONETIC The PHONETIC parameter () converts to the Name () and Address () 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 ). The related N or ADR property is defined by the vCard ALTID parameter. The conversion rules for the N and ADR 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 .
PHONETIC Conversion Example
PID The PID parameter () does not convert to a standard JSContact element. Implementations MAY convert it to the "parameters" property of the VCardProperty object (.
PREF The PREF parameter () converts to the pref property of that JSContact object, to which the vCard property having this parameter converts.
PROP-ID The PROP-ID parameter () is deprecated. The JSID parameter replaces it. The PROP-ID parameter MUST be ignored if the JSID parameter is set on the same property. If the JSID parameter is not set, implementations MAY convert the PROP-ID parameter to the key of the JSContact object to which the vCard property converts to.
PROP-ID Conversion Example
SCRIPT The SCRIPT parameter () converts to the Name () or Address () objects' phoneticScript property. Also see .
SERVICE-TYPE The SERVICE-TYPE parameter () converts to the OnlineService object's service property ().
SORT-AS The SORT-AS parameter () converts to the Name, Organization, and OrgUnit objects' sortAs properties.
TYPE The TYPE parameter () either converts to the contexts property or the kind property, as defined in later sections. If not specified otherwise, the vCard "home" and "work" parameter values convert to the JSContact "private" and "work" contexts, respectively.
TZ The TZ parameter () on an ADR property converts to the Address object's timeZone property (). Also see the conversion of the TZ property in .
USERNAME The USERNAME parameter () converts to the OnlineService object's user property ().
VALUE The VALUE parameter () does not convert to an IANA-registered property in JSContact. To preserve properties with experimental values, see Sections and .
General Properties
BEGIN and END The BEGIN and END properties do not convert to IANA-registered properties in JSContact.
KIND The KIND property () converts to the kind property (). Allowed values are those described in and extended with the values declared in and .
KIND Conversion Example
SOURCE The SOURCE property () converts to a Directory object () in the Card object's directories property (). 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 .
SOURCE Conversion Example
XML The XML property () does not convert to a standard JSContact element. Implementations MAY convert it to the "properties" property of the VCard object ().
Identification Properties
ANNIVERSARY, BDAY, BIRTHPLACE, DEATHDATE, and DEATHPLACE The following properties all convert to Anniversary objects in the Card object's anniversaries property ():
  • ANNIVERSARY ()
  • BDAY ()
  • BIRTHPLACE ()
  • DEATHDATE ()
  • DEATHPLACE ()
BDAY and BIRTHPLACE convert to an Anniversary object () 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 does not convert to a standard JSContact element. Implementations MAY convert it to the "properties" property of the VCard object (). The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters of both the BIRTHPLACE and DEATHPLACE properties convert according to the rules defined in .
BDAY, BIRTHPLACE, DEATHDATE, DEATHPLACE, and ANNIVERSARY Conversion Example
FN The FN property () converts to the Name object's full property (). If the LANGUAGE parameter is set, then the FN property converts as outlined in . 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 do not convert to a standard JSContact element. Implementations MAY convert them to the "properties" property of the VCard object ().
FN Conversion Example
GENDER The GENDER property () does not convert to an IANA-registered property in JSContact. To convert this property, see . 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 .
GRAMGENDER and PRONOUNS The GRAMGENDER property () converts to the SpeakToAs object's grammaticalGender property (). The PRONOUNS property () converts to the SpeakToAs object's pronouns property ().
GRAMGENDER and PRONOUNS Conversion Example
N The N property () converts to a Name object () 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 Components Conversion
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 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 . An empty or non-existent component value indicates that no sort is defined for this kind.
N Conversion Example
See for examples of using the JSCOMPS parameter for vCard-structured property values.
NICKNAME The NICKNAME property () converts to a Nickname object () in the Card object's nicknames property (). The name property is set to the NICKNAME property value. The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in .
NICKNAME Conversion Example
PHOTO The PHOTO property () converts to a Media object () in the Card object's media property (). 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 .
PHOTO Conversion Example
Delivery Addressing Properties
ADR The ADR property () converts to an Address object () 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. 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 Components Conversion
ADR component AddressComponent kind Remarks
post office box postOfficeBox 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 .
extended address apartment To vCard: set the values of the following components:
  • room
  • floor
  • apartment
  • building
From vCard: ignore if the ADR structured value is of the format defined in . Otherwise, convert to "apartment".
street address name To vCard: set the values of the following components:
  • number
  • name
  • block
  • direction
  • landmark
  • subdistrict
  • district
From vCard: ignore if the ADR structured value is of the format defined in . Otherwise, convert to "name".
locality locality
region region
postal code postcode
apartment apartment Defined in .
block block Defined in .
building building Defined in .
direction direction Defined in .
district district Defined in .
floor floor Defined in .
landmark landmark Defined in .
room room Defined in .
street number number Defined in .
subdistrict subdistrict Defined in .
If the JSCOMPS 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 LABEL parameter converts to the Address object's full property.
  • The GEO parameter converts to the Address object's coordinates property.
  • The TZ parameter converts to the Address object's timeZone property.
  • The CC parameter converts to the Address object's countryCode property.
The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in . The ADR-specific values of the TYPE parameter defined in Sections and of convert to the corresponding entries of the contexts property as defined in . The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters convert according to the rules defined in . Each possible language-dependent alternative converts to an entry of the PatchObject where the key references the full property.
ADR Conversion Example
See for examples of using the JSCOMPS parameter for vCard-structured property values.
Communications Properties
EMAIL The EMAIL property () converts to an EmailAddress object () in the Card object's emails property (). The EmailAddress object's address property is set to the EMAIL value. The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in .
EMAIL Conversion Example
IMPP The IMPP property () converts to an OnlineService object () in the Card object's onlineServices property (). The "uri" property is set to the IMPP value. Implementations MAY indicate that the OnlineService object converted from the IMPP property by adding an entry for the "uri" property of the OnlineService object in the "vCard/convertedProperties" property. The SERVICE-TYPE, USERNAME, PREF, and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in .
IMPP Conversion Example
LANG The LANG property () converts to a LanguagePref object () in the Card object's preferredLanguages property (). 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 .
LANG Conversion Example
LANGUAGE The LANGUAGE property () converts to the Card object's language property ().
LANGUAGE Conversion Example
SOCIALPROFILE The SOCIALPROFILE property () converts to an OnlineService object () in the Card object's onlineServices property (). If the SOCIALPROFILE property value is of type URI, then the "uri" property is set, otherwise, the "user" property is set. Implementations MAY indicate that the OnlineService object converted from the SOCIALPROFILE property by adding an entry for the "uri" or "user" property of the OnlineService object in the "vCard/convertedProperties" property. The SERVICE-TYPE, USERNAME, PREF, and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in .
SOCIALPROFILE Conversion Example
TEL The TEL property () converts to a Phone object () in the Card object's phones property (). The TEL-specific values of the TYPE parameter convert to the features property keys as outlined in . Note that 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. TEL TYPE Conversion
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 .
TEL Conversion Example
Geographical Properties
GEO The GEO property () converts to the Address object's coordinates property (). Also see to determine which Address object instance to convert to.
TZ The TZ property () converts an Address object () 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:
  • If the hour offset is zero, use the time zone name "Etc/UTC".
  • Otherwise, construct the time zone name with "Etc/GMT" suffixed with the string representation of the reversed sign hour offset, including the sign but excluding leading zeros and minutes. For example, the UTC offset value "-0500" converts to "Etc/GMT+5".
For such property values, also see 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 .
Combining Geographical Properties 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 GROUP parameter values of the properties match.
  • The GROUP parameters are not set, but they are set on any other ADR, GEO, and TZ properties.
Organizational Properties
CONTACT-URI The CONTACT-URI property () converts to a Link object () in the Card object's links property (). 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 .
CONTACT-URI Conversion Example
LOGO The LOGO property () converts to a Media object () in the Card object's media property (). 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 .
LOGO Conversion Example
MEMBER The MEMBER property () converts to the Card object's members property (). Each MEMBER property value is a key in the members property. The PREF parameter () does not convert to JSContact.
Group Example
ORG The ORG property () converts to an Organization object () in the Card object's organizations property (). 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 . 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 .
ORG Conversion Example
RELATED The RELATED property () converts to the Card object's relatedTo property (). The property value converts to the key in the relatedTo property. The TYPE parameters convert to the Relation object's relation property (). Any other parameters convert as defined in .
RELATED Conversion Example
TITLE and ROLE The TITLE () and ROLE () properties convert to a Title object () in the Card object's titles property (). 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 .
TITLE and ROLE Conversion Example
Personal Information Properties
EXPERTISE The EXPERTISE property () converts to a PersonalInfo object () in the Card object's personalInfo property (). The PersonalInfo object's kind property is set to "expertise". The INDEX and LEVEL parameters convert according to the rules defined in .
EXPERTISE Conversion Example
HOBBY The HOBBY property () converts to a PersonalInfo object () in the Card object's personalInfo property (). The PersonalInfo object's kind property is set to "hobby". The INDEX and LEVEL parameters convert according to the rules defined in .
HOBBY Conversion Example
INTEREST The INTEREST property () converts to a PersonalInfo object () in the Card object's personalInfo property (). The PersonalInfo object's kind property is set to "interest". The INDEX and LEVEL parameters convert according to the rules defined in .
INTEREST Conversion Example
ORG-DIRECTORY The ORG-DIRECTORY property () converts to a Directory object () in the Card object's directories property (). 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 .
ORG-DIRECTORY Conversion Example
Explanatory Properties
CATEGORIES The CATEGORIES property () converts to a set of entries of the Card object's keywords property (). 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.
CATEGORIES Conversion Example
CLIENTPIDMAP The CLIENTPIDMAP property () does not convert to a standard JSContact element. Implementations MAY convert it to the "properties" property of the VCard object ().
CREATED The CREATED property () converts to the Card object's created property ().
CREATED Conversion Example
NOTE The NOTE property () converts to a Note object () in the Card object's notes property (). The ALTID and LANGUAGE parameters convert according to the rules defined in .
NOTE Conversion Example
PRODID The PRODID property () converts to the Card object's prodId property ().
PRODID Conversion Example
REV The REV property () converts to the Card object's updated property ().
REV Conversion Example
SOUND The SOUND property () converts to a Media object () in the Card object's media property (). 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 .
SOUND Conversion Example
UID The UID property () converts to the Card object's uid property ().
UID Conversion Example
URL The URL property () converts to a Link object () in the Card object's links property (). The Link object's uri property is set to the URL value. The PREF and TYPE parameters convert according to the rules defined in .
URL Conversion Example
VERSION The VERSION property () does not convert to a standard JSContaact element. Implementations MAY convert it to the "properties" property of the VCard object ().
X-ABLabel 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 .
X-ABLabel Conversion Example
Security Properties
KEY The KEY property () converts to a CryptoKey object () in the Card object's cryptoKeys property (). 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 .
KEY Conversion Example
Calendar Properties
CALADRURI The CALADRURI property () converts to a SchedulingAddress object () in the Card object's schedulingAddresses property (). The SchedulingAddress object's uri property is set to the CALADRURI value. The PREF parameter () converts according to the rules defined in .
CALADRURI Conversion Example
CALURI The CALURI property () converts to a Calendar object () in the Card object's calendars property (). 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 .
CALURI Conversion Example
FBURL The FBURL property () converts to a Calendar object () in the Card object's calendars property (). 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 .
FBURL Conversion Example
Extended Properties and Parameters Extended properties and parameters convert as specified in .
Unknown Properties and Parameters 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 . defines the "vCard" property to represent such vCard elements in JSContact.
Converting JSContact to vCard
Conversion Rules A Card object converts to vCard by applying the reverse rules of converting vCard to JSContact. In addition to those listed in , the following rules apply:
  • Multivalued JSContact properties convert to separate instances of their equivalent vCard property, and each of the PROP-ID parameters MUST be set to the Id-typed key of the converted value (see ).
  • The full property of the name property in JSContact is optional, but the FN property is mandatory in vCard. The following rules apply:
    • If the Name object's full property is set, then implementations MUST use its value for the vCard FN property.
    • If the Name object's full property is not set, then implementations SHOULD derive the full name from the Name object's components property values. If the isOrdered property is "true", then this can be done by concatenating the name component values. Otherwise, or alternatively, an implementation can choose any other heuristic to generate the full name from its components such as . Implementations MUST set the DERIVED parameter on the FN property.
    • Otherwise, the FN property MUST be set to the empty value.
  • Vendor-specific and unknown properties convert to vCard as outlined in .
Converting Unknown Properties 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 vCard property and JSPTR vCard parameter by which such JSContact properties MAY be represented in vCard. Implementations MAY choose to convert differently if they deem that more appropriate.
New vCard Parameters
Updates to JSContact
New Properties
vCard
Name:
vCard
Context:
A Card object
Type:
VCard (optional)
Description
This property contains information about vCard data that got converted to a JSContact Card object. It allows for preserving arbitrary vCard elements, such as extension properties and parameters. This specification defines the VCard object type for converting a vCard to a JSContact Card object. Future specifications MAY define additional value types for this property. A VCard object has the following properties:
@type: String
This specifies the type of this object. This MUST be VCard, if set.
convertedProperties: String[VCardProperty] (optional)
This contains conversion-related information about the vCard properties that got partially or fully converted to JSContact. Each key defines the path to a JSContact element. The value for each key contains information about the vCard property which converted to the JSContact element located at that key. Unless otherwise defined for a specific vCard property, the path points to that JSContact object property to which the vCard property value converted to. The key MUST be a valid key of a PatchObject as defined in . The key MAY point into a nested object.
properties: *[][] (optional)
This contains properties of the vCard which did not convert to standard JSContact elements. The value MUST be a list of vCard properties formatted in jCard as defined in .
A VCardProperty object has the following properties:
@type: String
This specifies the type of this object. This MUST be VCardProperty, if set.
name: String (mandatory)
This is the name of the vCard property in lowercase.
valueType: String (optional)
This is the name of the vCard property value type in lowercase.
parameters: String[String|String[]] (optional)
This contains parameters of the vCard property. The value MUST comply with vCard parameters formatted in jCard as defined in .
The example in describes how to convert unknown vCard elements to the "vCard" property. The "X-FOO" parameter set on the FN property illustrates how to preserve an unknown vCard parameter on a property that does convert to a standard JSContact element. The "X-BAR" property and "X-BAZ" component illustrate how to convert entirely unknown vCard properties.
Converting unknown vCard elements to the vCard property
Updates to vCard
New Parameters
JSCOMPS
Parameter name:
JSCOMPS
Purpose:
Defines the order and separators for the elements of a structured property value.
Description:
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:
  1. 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 and illustrate this by example.
  2. 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 ), where the COMMA (U+002C) and SEMICOLON (U+003B) characters MUST be escaped according to the rules defined in . 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:
  • All indexes in the positional entries refer to an existing component value in the vCard property value.
  • 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:
    • A value that occurs in both the N property secondary surname component and the family name component only counts once.
    • A value that occurs in both the N property generation component and the honorific suffix component only counts once.
    • A value in the ADR property street address component does not count if the ADR property value contains a value in one of the new components defined in .
    • All other values count once each.
Format definition:
Example(s):
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.
Example of a Secondary Positional Index
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.
Example of Positional Entries
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.
Example of Separator Entries
JSID
Parameter Name:
JSID
Purpose:
Specifies the JSContact identifier of the associated property.
Description:
This parameter specifies the JSON object key of the JSContact object to which a vCard property converts to. For example, this parameter set on an EMAIL property defines the key of the EmailAddress object in the Card object's "emails" property (see below for an example). The value of the JSID parameter MUST be a valid key according to the definition of the JSContact property to which the property that this parameter is set on converts to. Typically, this requires the value to be a valid Id.
Format Definition:
Example(s):
Converting the JSID parameter on an EMAIL property
JSPTR
Parameter name:
JSPTR
Purpose:
This parameter is set on a JSPROP property. Its value is a JSON pointer that points to the JSContact property having the value of the JSPROP property.
Description:
This parameter has a single value that MUST be a valid JSON pointer as defined in . Note that the value MUST be quoted according to the "param-value" ABNF in .
Format definition:
Example(s):
This illustrates a simple example. For further examples, see .
New vCard Properties
JSPROP
Property name:
JSPROP
Purpose:
Represents a JSContact property in vCard.
Value type:
TEXT; also see "Format definition" below for value restrictions.
Conformance:
Can be specified multiple times in a vCard.
Property parameters:
The JSPTR parameter MUST be set for this property. Other IANA-registered and experimental property parameters can be specified on this property.
Description:
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 . 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 . 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.
Format definition:
This property is defined by the following notation:
Example(s):
This illustrates how to convert a property at the top level in a Card object that is unknown to the implementation.
Unknown Property Example
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.
Vendor-Specific Property Conversion Example
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.
Nested Vendor-Specific Property Example with a Path Relative to Card
Security Considerations 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 and .
IANA Considerations TBD
References Normative References JSContact: A JSON Representation of Contact Data vCard Format Extension for JSContact Fastmail IIT-CNR Informative References vObject Internationalization Ribose Ribose Spherical Cow Group Unicode Locale Data Markup Language (LDML) Part 8: Person Names other CLDR committee members
Reverse Rules of Converting a vCard to a JSContact Card lists the relevant document sections for each JSContact type and property. Conversion Rules for JSContact Types and Properties
JSContact Type Property Name Relevant Section(s)
Address @type not applicable
Address components Sections and
Address contexts
Address coordinates Sections and
Address country
Address countryCode
Address defaultSeparator Sections and
Address full
Address isOrdered Sections and
Address locality
Address phoneticScript Sections and
Address phoneticSystem
Address postcode
Address pref
Address region
Address timeZone Sections and
AddressComponent phonetic
Anniversary @type not applicable
Anniversary date
Anniversary kind
Anniversary place
Author @type not applicable
Author name
Author uri
Calendar @type not applicable
Calendar contexts
Calendar kind Sections and
Calendar label
Calendar mediaType
Calendar pref
Calendar uri Sections and
Card @type not applicable
Card @version not applicable
Card addresses
Card anniversaries
Card calendars Sections and
Card created
Card directories Sections and
Card emails
Card keywords
Card kind
Card language
Card links Sections and
Card localizations
Card media Sections , , and
Card members
Card name
Card nicknames
Card notes
Card onlineServices
Card organizations
Card personalInfo Sections , , and
Card phones
Card preferredLanguages
Card prodId
Card relatedTo
Card schedulingAddresses
Card speakToAs
Card titles
Card uid
Card updated
CryptoKey @type not applicable
CryptoKey contexts
CryptoKey kind not applicable
CryptoKey label
CryptoKey mediaType
CryptoKey pref
CryptoKey uri
Directory @type not applicable
Directory contexts
Directory kind Sections and
Directory label
Directory listAs
Directory mediaType
Directory pref
Directory uri Sections and
EmailAddress @type not applicable
EmailAddress address
EmailAddress contexts
EmailAddress label
EmailAddress pref
LanguagePref @type not applicable
LanguagePref contexts
LanguagePref pref
Link @type not applicable
Link contexts
Link kind
Link label
Link mediaType
Link pref
Link uri Sections and
Media @type not applicable
Media contexts
Media kind Sections , , and
Media label
Media mediaType
Media pref
Media uri Sections , , and
Name @type not applicable
Name components Sections and
Name defaultSeparator Sections and
Name full
Name phoneticScript Sections and
Name phoneticSystem
Name isOrdered Sections and
Name sortAs
NameComponent @type not applicable
NameComponent kind
NameComponent phonetic
NameComponent value
Nickname @type not applicable
Nickname contexts
Nickname name
Nickname pref
Note @type not applicable
Note author Sections and
Note created
Note note
OnlineService @type not applicable
OnlineService contexts
OnlineService label
OnlineService pref
OnlineService service
OnlineService uri Sections and
OnlineService user
OrgUnit @type not applicable
OrgUnit name
OrgUnit sortAs
Organization @type not applicable
Organization contexts
Organization name
Organization sortAs
Organization units
PartialDate @type not applicable
PartialDate calendarScale
PartialDate day
PartialDate month
PartialDate year
PatchObject @type not applicable
PersonalInfo @type not applicable
PersonalInfo kind Sections , , and
PersonalInfo listAs
PersonalInfo level
PersonalInfo value Sections , , and
Phone @type not applicable
Phone contexts
Phone features
Phone label
Phone number
Phone pref
Pronouns @type not applicable
Pronouns contexts
Pronouns pref
Pronouns pronouns
Relation @type not applicable
Relation relation
Resource @type not applicable
SchedulingAddress @type not applicable
SchedulingAddress contexts
SchedulingAddress label
SchedulingAddress pref
SchedulingAddress uri
SpeakToAs @type not applicable
SpeakToAs grammaticalGender
SpeakToAs pronouns
AddressComponent @type not applicable
AddressComponent kind
AddressComponent value
Timestamp @type not applicable
Timestamp utc
Title @type not applicable
Title kind
Title name
Title organizationId
Differences from RFC 9555 This section documents all significant differences from RFC 9555. Insignificant differences, such as formatting, grammar or typos are not documented.
Applied Errata The following errrata was applied to to this document:
  • Errata 8555
Changed Conversion Rules
vCard to JSContact
  • Converting the UID property to the "uid" property is redefined for JSContact version "2.0". See .
Changes to JSContact
Obsoleted Properties The following JSContact properties became obsolete:
vCardProps
This property is deprecated, the "properties" property of the newly defined VCard type replaces it. illustrates this using the same example as.
Example for Representing the Obsolete vCardProps Property
vCardParams
This property is deprecated, the "parameters" property of the newly defined VCardProperty type replaces it. illustrates this using the same example as .
Example for Representing the Obsolete vCardParams Property
vCardName
This property is deprecated, the "name" property of the newly defined VCardProperty type replaces it. illustrates this using the same example as .
Example for Representing the Obsolete vCardName Property
Obsoleted Types The following JSContact type definitions became obsolete:
JCardProp
This type is deprecated because the "vCardProps" property became deprecated. Also see .
Changes to vCard
Obsoleted Parameters The following vCard parameters became obsolete:
PROP-ID
This parameter is deprecated, the newly defined JSID parameter replaces it. defines how to process the PROP-ID in presence and absence of the JSID parameter.
Acknowledgements The definition and examples of the PHONETIC and SCRIPT parameters are based on the initial draft version of .