Portable Contacts
Encyclopedia
Portable Contacts is an open protocol for developers to make it easier for developers to give their users a secure way to access the address books
and friends lists they have built up all over the web. The goal of the project is to increase data portability by creating a common and open specification to bridge proprietary
contacts API such as Google's GData Contacts API, Yahoo's Address Book API, and Microsoft's Live Contacts API. It combines OAuth
, XRDS
-Simple and a wire-format based on vCard
harmonized with schema from OpenSocial
.
The editor of Portable Contacts specification was Joseph Smarr of Plaxo
and the project co-maintained by Chris Messina.
Portable Contacts is used by services such as Google Contacts
, Windows Live Messenger Connect, as well as other specification such as OStatus
.
Address book
An address book or a name and address book is a book or a database used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields...
and friends lists they have built up all over the web. The goal of the project is to increase data portability by creating a common and open specification to bridge proprietary
Proprietary protocol
In telecommunications, a proprietary protocol is a communications protocol owned by a single organization or individual.-Enforcement:Proprietors may enforce restrictions through patents and by keeping the protocol specification a trade secret...
contacts API such as Google's GData Contacts API, Yahoo's Address Book API, and Microsoft's Live Contacts API. It combines OAuth
OAuth
OAuth is an open standard for authorization. It allows users to share their private resources stored on one site with another site without having to hand out their credentials, typically username and password.OAuth allows users to hand out tokens instead of credentials to their data hosted by a...
, XRDS
XRDS
XRDS is an XML format for discovery of metadata about a resource – in particular discovery of services associated with the resource, a process known as service discovery...
-Simple and a wire-format based on vCard
VCard
vCard is a file format standard for electronic business cards. vCards are often attached to e-mail messages, but can be exchanged in other ways, such as on the World Wide Web or Instant Messaging...
harmonized with schema from OpenSocial
OpenSocial
OpenSocial is a set of common application programming interfaces for web-based social network applications, developed by Google along with MySpace and a number of other social networks.It was released November 1, 2007....
.
The editor of Portable Contacts specification was Joseph Smarr of Plaxo
Plaxo
Plaxo is an online address book and social networking service originally founded by Sean Parker, Minh Nguyen and two Stanford engineering students, Todd Masonis and Cameron Ring...
and the project co-maintained by Chris Messina.
Portable Contacts is used by services such as Google Contacts
Google Contacts
Google Contacts is Google's contact management tool that is available in its free email service Gmail, , and as a part of Google's business-oriented suite of web apps Google Apps.-2010 major update:...
, Windows Live Messenger Connect, as well as other specification such as OStatus
OStatus
OStatus is an open standard for distributed status updates that references a suite of open protocols including Atom, Activity Streams, PubSubHubbub, Salmon, Webfinger, that allows different messaging hubs to route status updates between users in near real-time....
.