Reference

vCard(3pm)

Read, write, and edit vCards

NAME

vCard - Read, write, and edit vCards

SYNOPSIS

    use vCard;
    # create the object
    my $vcard = vCard->new;
    # these methods load vCard data
    # (see method documentation for details)
    $vcard->load_file($filename); 
    $vcard->load_string($string); 
    $vcard->load_hashref($hashref); 
    # simple getters/setters
    $vcard->full_name('Bruce Banner, PhD');
    $vcard->title('Research Scientist');
    $vcard->photo('http://example.com/bbanner.gif');
    # complex getters/setters
    $vcard->phones([
        { type => ['work', 'text'], number => '651-290-1234', preferred => 1 },
        { type => ['home'],         number => '651-290-1111' }
    ]);
    $vcard->email_addresses([
        { type => ['work'], address => '[email protected]' },
        { type => ['home'], address => '[email protected]'      },
    ]);
    # these methods output data in vCard format
    my $file   = $vcard->as_file($filename); # writes to $filename
    my $string = $vcard->as_string;          # returns a string

DESCRIPTION

A vCard is a digital business card. vCard and vCard::AddressBook provide an API for parsing, editing, and creating vCards.

This module is built on top of Text::vCard. It provides a more intuitive user interface.

To handle an address book with several vCard entries in it, start with vCard::AddressBook and then come back to this module.

Note that the vCard RFC requires version() and full_name(). This module does not check or warn if these conditions have not been met.

ENCODING AND UTF-8

See the 'ENCODING AND UTF-8' section of vCard::AddressBook.

METHODS

load_hashref($hashref)

$hashref should look like this:

    full_name    => 'Bruce Banner, PhD',
    given_names  => ['Bruce'],
    family_names => ['Banner'],
    title        => 'Research Scientist',
    photo        => 'http://example.com/bbanner.gif',
    phones       => [
        { type => ['work'], number => '651-290-1234', preferred => 1 },
        { type => ['cell'], number => '651-290-1111' },
    },
    addresses => [
        { type => ['work'], ... },
        { type => ['home'], ... },
    ],
    email_addresses => [
        { type => ['work'], address => '[email protected]' },
        { type => ['home'], address => '[email protected]' },
    ],

Returns $self in case you feel like chaining.

load_file($filename)

Returns $self in case you feel like chaining.

load_string($string)

Returns $self in case you feel like chaining. This method assumes $string is decoded (but not MIME decoded).

as_string()

Returns the vCard as a string.

as_file($filename)

Write data in vCard format to $filename.

Dies if not successful.

SIMPLE GETTERS/SETTERS

These methods accept and return strings.

version()

Version number of the vcard. Defaults to '4.0'

full_name()

A person's entire name as they would like to see it displayed.

title()

A person's position or job.

photo()

This should be a link. Accepts a string or a URI object. This method always returns a URI object.

TODO: handle binary images using the data uri schema

birthday()

timezone()

COMPLEX GETTERS/SETTERS

These methods accept and return array references rather than simple strings.

family_names()

Accepts/returns an arrayref of family names (aka surnames).

given_names()

Accepts/returns an arrayref.

other_names()

Accepts/returns an arrayref of names which don't qualify as family_names or given_names.

honorific_prefixes()

Accepts/returns an arrayref. eg "[ 'Dr.' ]"

honorific_suffixes()

Accepts/returns an arrayref. eg "[ 'Jr.', 'MD' ]"

phones()

Accepts/returns an arrayref that looks like:

  [
    { type => ['work'], number => '651-290-1234', preferred => 1 },
    { type => ['cell'], number => '651-290-1111' },
  ]

addresses()

Accepts/returns an arrayref that looks like:

  [
    { type => ['work'], street => 'Main St', preferred => 0 },
    { type      => ['home'], 
      pobox     => 1234,
      extended  => 'asdf',
      street    => 'Army St',
      city      => 'Desert Base',
      region    => '',
      post_code => '',
      country   => 'USA',
      preferred => 1,
    },
  ]

email_addresses()

Accepts/returns an arrayref that looks like:

  [
    { type => ['work'], address => '[email protected]' },
    { type => ['home'], address => '[email protected]', preferred => 1 },
  ]

AUTHOR

Eric Johnson (kablamo), github ~!at!~ iijo dot org

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Foxtons <http://foxtons.co.uk> for making this module possible by donating a significant amount of developer time.

History