• NAME
• SYNOPSIS
• REQUIRES
• DESCRIPTION
• DEFINITIONS
• new
• scan
• output
• LIMITATIONS
• REFERENCES
• HISTORY
• FUTURE DIRECTIONS
• SEE ALSO
• BUGS
• CHANGES
• AUTHOR

NAME

Mail::Addressbook::Convert::Tsv - convert to and from Tsv ( Tab Separated )formatted addressbooks

SYNOPSIS

use strict;

use Mail::Addressbook::Convert::Tsv;

my $TSV = new Mail::Addressbook::Convert::Tsv();

my $TsvInFile =``csvSample.txt''; # name of the file containing the csv data

# Convert Tsv to Standard Intermediate format

# see documentation for details on format.

my $raIntermediate = $TSV->scan(\$CsvInFile);

# This will also work

#my @TsvInArray = @arrayContainingTheCsvData;

#my $raIntermediate = $csv->scan(\@TsvInArray);

# Convert back to Tsv

my $raTsvOut = $TSV->output($raIntermediate);

print join ``'', @$raIntermediate;

print ``\n\n\n\n'';

print join ``'', @$raTsvOut;

REQUIRES

Perl, version 5.001 or higher

Carp

DESCRIPTION

This module is meant to be used as part of the Mail::Addressbook::Convert distribution.

It can convert a Tsv addressbook to a Standard Intermediate format(STF) and a STF to TSV As part of the larger distribution, it will allow conversion between Tsv and many other formats.

To use to convert between Tsv and Eudora as an example, you would do the following

use Mail::Addressbook::Convert::Tsv;

use Mail::Addressbook::Convert::Eudora;

my $Tsv = new Mail::Addressbook::Convert::Tsv();

my $Eudora = new Mail::Addressbook::Convert::Eudora();

my $tsvInFile =``tsvSample.txt''; # name of the file containing the Tsv data

my $raIntermediate = $Tsv->scan(\$tsvInFile);

my $raEudora = $Eudora->output($raIntermediate); # reference to an array containing a Eudora addressbook

DEFINITIONS

Standard Intermediate Format(STF) :

                        The addressbook format that is used as an intermediate
                        between conversions.  It is rfc822 compliant and can
                        be used directly as a Eudora addressbook.  Do not use
                        a Eudora addressbook as an STF. Some versions of 
                        Eudora use a format, that while RFC822 compliant, will
                        not work as an STF. Run the Eudora addressbook
                        through $Eudora->scan()

Tsv addressbook:

        The tab seperated columns are described below. Only the first one is mandatory.
        They may be enclosed in quotes. 

        E-mail address. 
        Name 1 Usually first name or full name. 
        Name 2 Usually last name or leave blank 
        Alias A unique alias, if it is not unique, it will be made unique. If it is left blank, a unique alias will be produced from the name portion of the e-mail address (the part to the left of the "@" sign). 
        Comment 
        In the following columns, as many as needed, put the names of any mailing lists (address list, distribution lists, etc.) that you want this address to be included in.

        Two Examples:

        Using only column 1
        jdavidson@interguru.com
        Using Columns 1 and 4
        jdavidson@interguru.com<tab><tab>jhd

The spaces in the example are tabs.

A full Example ------------------------------------------------

jhd@radix.net	Joe	Davidson1	jhd	comment1	lista
jdavidson@interguru.com	Joe	Davidson2	lista	listb
jhd@radix.net	Joe	Davidson3	comment3
jhd@radix.net	Joe	Davidson4	comment4	listb	listc
kingtut@noplace.edu	King Tut
queeenofsheba@kush.com

------------------------------------------------------ =head1 METHODS

new

no arguments needed.

scan

Input : a reference to an array containing a tsv file or a reference to a scalar containing the file name with the tsv data. Returns: a reference to a STF ( see above).

output

Input: a reference to a STF ( see above). Returns : a reference to an array containing a tsv file.

LIMITATIONS

This only converts email address, aliases, and mailing lists. Phone numbers, postal addresses and other such data are not converted.

REFERENCES

HISTORY

This code is derived from the code used on www.interguru.com/mailconv.htm . The site has been up since 1996 ( but ldif was only included on 1997, when Netscape 3 started using it.) The site gets about 8000 unique visitors a month, many of whom make addressbook conversions. The code has been well tested.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

SEE ALSO

BUGS

CHANGES

Original Version 2001-Sept-09

=head1 COPYRIGHT

Copyright (c) 2001 Joe Davidson. All rights reserved. This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the Perl Artistic License (see http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html). or the GPL copyleft license ( http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html)

AUTHOR

Mail::Addressbook::Convert was written by Joe Davidson <jdavidson@interguru.com> in 2001.