Network Working Group                                         F. DawsonRequest for Comments: 2426                Lotus Development CorporationCategory: Standards Track                                      T. Howes                                                Netscape Communications                                                         September 1998                      vCard MIME Directory ProfileStatus of this Memo   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.Copyright Notice   Copyright (C) The Internet Society (1998).  All Rights Reserved.Abstract   This memo defines the profile of the MIME Content-Type [MIME-DIR] for   directory information for a white-pages person object, based on a   vCard electronic business card. The profile definition is independent   of any particular directory service or protocol. The profile is   defined for representing and exchanging a variety of information   about an individual (e.g., formatted and structured name and delivery   addresses, email address, multiple telephone numbers, photograph,   logo, audio clips, etc.). The directory information used by this   profile is based on the attributes for the person object defined in   the X.520 and X.521 directory services recommendations. The profile   also provides the method for including a [VCARD] representation of a   white-pages directory entry within the MIME Content-Type defined by   the [MIME-DIR] document.   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY" and "OPTIONAL" in this   document are to be interpreted as described in [RFC 2119].Dawson & Howes              Standards Track                     [Page 1]RFC 2426              vCard MIME Directory Profile        September 1998Table of Contents   Overview.........................................................3   1. THE VCARD MIME DIRECTORY PROFILE REGISTRATION.................4   2. MIME DIRECTORY FEATURES.......................................5    2.1 PREDEFINED TYPE USAGE ......................................5     2.1.1 BEGIN and END Type ......................................5     2.1.2 NAME Type ...............................................5     2.1.3 PROFILE Type ............................................5     2.1.4 SOURCE Type .............................................5    2.2 PREDEFINED TYPE PARAMETER USAGE ............................6    2.3 PREDEFINED VALUE TYPE USAGE ................................6    2.4 EXTENSIONS TO THE PREDEFINED VALUE TYPES ...................6     2.4.1 BINARY ..................................................6     2.4.2 VCARD ...................................................6     2.4.3 PHONE-NUMBER ............................................7     2.4.4 UTC-OFFSET ..............................................7    2.5 STRUCTURED TYPE VALUES .....................................7    2.6 LINE DELIMITING AND FOLDING ................................8   3. VCARD PROFILE FEATURES........................................8    3.1 IDENTIFICATION TYPES .......................................8     3.1.1 FN Type Definition ......................................8     3.1.2 N Type Definition .......................................9     3.1.3 NICKNAME Type Definition ................................9     3.1.4 PHOTO Type Definition ..................................10     3.1.5 BDAY Type Definition ...................................11    3.2 DELIVERY ADDRESSING TYPES .................................11     3.2.1 ADR Type Definition ....................................11     3.2.2 LABEL Type Definition ..................................13    3.3 TELECOMMUNICATIONS ADDRESSING TYPES .......................13     3.3.1 TEL Type Definition ....................................14     3.3.2 EMAIL Type Definition ..................................15     3.3.3 MAILER Type Definition .................................15    3.4 GEOGRAPHICAL TYPES ........................................16     3.4.1 TZ Type Definition .....................................16     3.4.2 GEO Type Definition ....................................16    3.5 ORGANIZATIONAL TYPES ......................................17     3.5.1 TITLE Type Definition ..................................17     3.5.2 ROLE Type Definition ...................................18     3.5.3 LOGO Type Definition ...................................18     3.5.4 AGENT Type Definition ..................................19     3.5.5 ORG Type Definition ....................................20    3.6 EXPLANATORY TYPES .........................................20     3.6.1 CATEGORIES Type Definition .............................20     3.6.2 NOTE Type Definition ...................................21     3.6.3 PRODID Type Definition .................................21     3.6.4 REV Type Definition ....................................22     3.6.5 SORT-STRING Type Definition ............................22Dawson & Howes              Standards Track                     [Page 2]RFC 2426              vCard MIME Directory Profile        September 1998     3.6.6 SOUND Type Definition ..................................23     3.6.7 UID Type Definition ....................................24     3.6.8 URL Type Definition ....................................25     3.6.9 VERSION Type Definition ................................25    3.7 SECURITY TYPES ............................................25     3.7.1 CLASS Type Definition ..................................26     3.7.2 KEY Type Definition ....................................26    3.8 EXTENDED TYPES ............................................27   4. FORMAL GRAMMAR...............................................27   5. DIFFERENCES FROM VCARD V2.1..................................37   6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................39   7. AUTHORS' ADDRESSES...........................................39   8. SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS......................................39   9. REFERENCES...................................................40   10. FULL COPYRIGHT STATEMENT....................................42Overview   The [MIME-DIR] document defines a MIME Content-Type for holding   different kinds of directory information. The directory information   can be based on any of a number of directory schemas. This document   defines a [MIME-DIR] usage profile for conveying directory   information based on one such schema; that of the white-pages type of   person object.   The schema is based on the attributes for the person object defined   in the X.520 and X.521 directory services recommendations. The schema   has augmented the basic attributes defined in the X.500 series   recommendation in order to provide for an electronic representation   of the information commonly found on a paper business card. This   schema was first defined in the [VCARD] document. Hence, this [MIME-   DIR] profile is referred to as the vCard MIME Directory Profile.   A directory entry based on this usage profile can include traditional   directory, white-pages information such as the distinguished name   used to uniquely identify the entry, a formatted representation of   the name used for user-interface or presentation purposes, both the   structured and presentation form of the delivery address, various   telephone numbers and organizational information associated with the   entry. In addition, traditional paper business card information such   as an image of an organizational logo or identify photograph can be   included in this person object.   The vCard MIME Directory Profile also provides support for   representing other important information about the person associated   with the directory entry. For instance, the date of birth of the   person; an audio clip describing the pronunciation of the name   associated with the directory entry, or some other application of theDawson & Howes              Standards Track                     [Page 3]RFC 2426              vCard MIME Directory Profile        September 1998   digital sound; longitude and latitude geo-positioning information   related to the person associated with the directory entry; date and   time that the directory information was last updated; annotations   often written on a business card; Uniform Resource Locators (URL) for   a website; public key information. The profile also provides support   for non-standard extensions to the schema. This provides the   flexibility for implementations to augment the current capabilities   of the profile in a standardized way. More information about this   electronic business card format can be found in [VCARD].1.  The vCard Mime Directory Profile Registration   This profile is identified by the following [MIME-DIR] registration   template information. Subsequent sections define the profile   definition.   To: ietf-mime-directory@imc.org   Subject: Registration of text/directory MIME profile VCARD   Profile name: VCARD   Profile purpose: To hold person object or white-pages type of   directory information. The person schema captured in the directory   entries is that commonly found in an electronic business card.   Predefined MIME Directory value specifications used: uri, date,   date-time, float   New value specifications: This profile places further constraints on   the [MIME-DIR] text value specification. In addition, it adds a   binary, phone-number, utc-offset and vcard value specifications.   Predefined MIME Directory types used: SOURCE, NAME, PROFILE, BEGIN,   END.   Predefined MIME Directory parameters used: ENCODING, VALUE, CHARSET,   LANGUAGE, CONTEXT.   New types: FN, N, NICKNAME, PHOTO, BDAY, ADR, LABEL, TEL, EMAIL,   MAILER, TZ, GEO, TITLE, ROLE, LOGO, AGENT, ORG, CATEGORIES, NOTE,   PRODID, REV, SORT-STRING, SOUND, URL, UID, VERSION, CLASS, KEY   New parameters: TYPE   Profile special notes: The vCard object MUST contain the FN, N and   VERSION types. The type-grouping feature of [MIME-DIR] is supported   by this profile to group related vCard properties about a directoryDawson & Howes              Standards Track                     [Page 4]RFC 2426              vCard MIME Directory Profile        September 1998   entry. For example, vCard properties describing WORK or HOME related   characteristics can be grouped with a unique group label.   The profile permits the use of non-standard types (i.e., those   identified with the prefix string "X-") as a flexible method for   implementations to extend the functionality currently defined within   this profile.2.  MIME Directory Features   The vCard MIME Directory Profile makes use of many of the features   defined by [MIME-DIR]. The following sections either clarify or   extend the content-type definition of [MIME-DIR].2.1 Predefined Type Usage   The vCard MIME Directory Profile uses the following predefined types   from [MIME-DIR].2.1.1 BEGIN and END Type   The content entity MUST begin with the BEGIN type with a value of   "VCARD". The content entity MUST end with the END type with a value   of "VCARD".2.1.2 NAME Type   If the NAME type is present, then its value is the displayable,   presentation text associated with the source for the vCard, as   specified in the SOURCE type.2.1.3 PROFILE Type   If the PROFILE type is present, then its value MUST be "VCARD".2.1.4 SOURCE Type   If the SOURCE type is present, then its value provides information   how to find the source for the vCard.Dawson & Howes              Standards Track                     [Page 5]RFC 2426              vCard MIME Directory Profile        September 19982.2 Predefined Type Parameter Usage   The vCard MIME Directory Profile uses the following predefined type   parameters as defined by [MIME-DIR].        - LANGUAGE        - ENCODING        - VALUE2.3 Predefined VALUE Type Usage   The predefined data type values specified in [MIME-DIR] MUST NOT be   repeated in COMMA separated value lists except within the N,   NICKNAME, ADR and CATEGORIES value types.   The text value type defined in [MIME-DIR] is further restricted such   that any SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59) in the value MUST be   escaped with the BACKSLASH character (ASCII decimal 92).2.4 Extensions To The Predefined VALUE Types   The predefined data type values specified in [MIME-DIR] have been   extended by the vCard profile to include a number of value types that   are specific to this profile.2.4.1 BINARY   The "binary" value type specifies that the type value is inline,   encoded binary data. This value type can be specified in the PHOTO,   LOGO, SOUND, and KEY types.   If inline encoded binary data is specified, the ENCODING type   parameter MUST be used to specify the encoding format. The binary   data MUST be encoded using the "B" encoding format. Long lines of   encoded binary data SHOULD BE folded to 75 characters using the   folding method defined in [MIME-DIR].   The value type is defined by the following notation:   binary = <A "B" binary encoded string as defined by [RFC 2047].>2.4.2 VCARD   The "vcard" value type specifies that the type value is another   vCard. This value type can be specified in the AGENT type. The value   type is defined by this specification. Since each of the typeDawson & Howes              Standards Track                     [Page 6]RFC 2426              vCard MIME Directory Profile        September 1998   declarations with in the vcard value type are being specified within   a text value themselves, they MUST be terminated with the backslash   escape sequence "\n" or "\N", instead of the normal newline character   sequence CRLF. In addition, any COMMA character (ASCII decimal 44),   SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59) and COLON character (ASCII   decimal 58) MUST be escaped with the BACKSLASH character (ASCII   decimal 92). For example, with the AGENT type a value would be   specified as:        AGENT:BEGIN:VCARD\nFN:Joe Friday\nTEL:+1-919-555-7878\n         TITLE:Area Administrator\, Assistant\n EMAIL\;TYPE=INTERN\n         ET:jfriday@host.com\nEND:VCARD\n2.4.3 PHONE-NUMBER   The "phone-number" value type specifies that the type value is a   telephone number. This value type can be specified in the TEL type.   The value type is a text value that has the special semantics of a   telephone number as defined in [CCITT E.163] and [CCITT X.121].2.4.4 UTC-OFFSET   The "utc-offset" value type specifies that the type value is a signed   offset from UTC. This value type can be specified in the TZ type.   The value type is an offset from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). It   is specified as a positive or negative difference in units of hours   and minutes (e.g., +hh:mm). The time is specified as a 24-hour clock.   Hour values are from 00 to 23, and minute values are from 00 to 59.   Hour and minutes are 2-digits with high order zeroes required to   maintain digit count. The extended format for ISO 8601 UTC offsets   MUST be used. The extended format makes use of a colon character as a   separator of the hour and minute text fields.   The value is defined by the following notation:        time-hour       = 2DIGIT        ;00-23        time-minute     = 2DIGIT        ;00-59        utc-offset      = ("+" / "-") time-hour ":" time-minute2.5 Structured Type Values   Compound type values are delimited by a field delimiter, specified by   the SEMI-COLON character (ASCII decimal 59). A SEMI-COLON in a   component of a compound property value MUST be escaped with a   BACKSLASH character (ASCII decimal 92).Dawson & Howes              Standards Track                     [Page 7]RFC 2426              vCard MIME Directory Profile        September 1998   Lists of values are delimited by a list delimiter, specified by the   COMMA character (ASCII decimal 44). A COMMA character in a value MUST   be escaped with a BACKSLASH character (ASCII decimal 92).   This profile supports the type grouping mechanism defined in [MIME-   DIR]. Grouping of related types is a useful technique to communicate   common semantics concerning the properties of a vCard.2.6 Line Delimiting and Folding   This profile supports the same line delimiting and folding methods   defined in [MIME-DIR]. Specifically, when parsing a content line,   folded lines must first be unfolded according to the unfolding   procedure described in [MIME-DIR]. After generating a content line,   lines longer than 75 characters SHOULD be folded according to the   folding procedure described in [MIME DIR].   Folding is done after any content encoding of a type value. Unfolding   is done before any decoding of a type value in a content line.