How to convert standard vCard into first-class JSON?

[ppKrauss]

There are an ez-vcard option or parameter for it?

I need a stable and secure convertion, that produce the final output as "first class" JSON objects. Example:

• jCard format: [["version", {}, "text", "4.0"],["fn", {}, "text", "Forrest Gump"]]

• First-class JSON format: {"version":"4.0","fn":"Forrest Gump"}.

[mangstadt]

Sorry, ez-vcard does not produce the kind of JSON output you are looking for.

[ppKrauss]

Hi @mangstadt , thanks! Well, can I help to draft and perhaps develop something for ez-vcard?

I understand that the reversibility ("round-tripping" as RFC 7095) is a key feature of jCard, and it is only possible with expresstions as ["lang", { "pref": "1" }, "language-tag", "fr"], mapping spetial properties, parameters or values. So, jCard can be used as intermediary format (the input) for any other non-reversible format. It is like to write a "vCard report".

The usual goal of non-reversible formats are to express in simplifyed (but also "standard") way the vCard information, for simpler applications... Perhaps the main demand is the construction of Semantic Web expressions, where SchemaOrg is today a de facto standard. See Person, Organization and ContactPoint.

---

The key files seems JCardRawWriter.java and perhaps JsonValue.java... What do you suggest as a starting point?

[ppKrauss]

Before to move on, in this line of "simple and first-class JSON" (my preference), perhaps you want to check other complex reversible format, the JSON-LD as #78. If we confortable with "simple first", let me explain better.

Maping vCard to SchemaOrg, with equivalences at xCard:

vCard	Class	Property	xCard
FN	Person	name	fn/text
N[1]	Person	familyName	surname
N[2]	Person	givenName	given
N[3]	Person	additionalName	additional
N[4]	Person	honorificPrefix	prefix
N[5]	Person	honorificSuffix	suffix
ORG	Organization	name	org/text
EMAIL	Person	email	email/text
TEL	Person	telephone	tel/uri
BDAY	Person	birthDate	...
LABEL;HOME	Person	address	adr/parameters/label
LABEL;WORK	Organization	address	...
ADR[1]	PostalAddress	postOfficeBoxNumber	adr/pobox
ADR[2]	PostalAddress	...	adr/ext
ADR[3]	PostalAddress	streetAddress	adr/street
...	...	...	...

So there are two natural alternatives to reuse labels: from xCard or from SchemaOrg... But only SchemaOrg is a de facto standard, and express semantic hierarchy, so I prefer SchemaOrg.

Example (from this Wikipedia example):

...
"Person":{
   "name":"Forrest Gump",
   "familyName":"Forrest",
   "givenName":"Gump",
   "honorificPrefix":"Mr.",
   "address":"42 Plantation St.\nBaytown, LA 30314\nUnited States of America",
   "PostalAddress":{
      "streetAddress":"42 Plantation St.",
      "city":"Baytown",
      "postalCode":"30314",
      "addressCountry":"United States of America"
    },
   "telephone":"+1-404-555-1212"
},
"Organization":{
   "name":"Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.",
   "telephone":"+1-111-555-1212",
   "address":"100 Waters Edge\nBaytown, LA 30314\nUnited States of America",
   "PostalAddress":{}
},
...

[mangstadt]

I would treat it as an entirely new data format, and start by creating a new "writer" class.

You could use one of the existing writer classes as a starting point. Because it's based on JSON, you could use the JCardWriter class.

[NightMachinery]

@ppKrauss I have written a JSON outputter using ez-vcard, which might satisfy your needs.