RE: Contacts API: vCard vs. PoCo

On Tue, 2009-11-10 at 15:19 -0500, Suresh Chitturi wrote: 
> 
> Another option would be to consider an API design that will allow access
> to a basic set of attributes and would also allow "extended" attributes
> that can be supported beyond what is mandated by the spec.

Hi,

If the API includes an allowance for storage of arbitrary attributes
(possibly arriving in data from external sources) it will need to allow
for methods of retrieving all such arbitrary attributes by programs that
do not understand their names and meanings so that applications can
reassemble the original content without knowing what attributes that
original content might have contained.

Probably this is already covered in the API and I don't need to worry,
but since this failure to round-trip attributes seems to be one of the
biggest problems with SyncML in real life I just want to make sure it's
explicitly covered in the specification, and also that it will be
included in any interoperability testing when people start to implement
these APIs.

Thanks,
     Andrew McMillan.

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andrew (AT) morphoss (DOT) com                            +64(272)DEBIAN
        Abandon the search for Truth; settle for a good fantasy.
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