The main purpose of this document is to make roster not only a "contact list", but also a "list of useful items". This means that the user has the ability to store not only users' JIDs, but any JID that he wants to quickly access with more information than just the name, subscription and roster groups.
All information, that can be stored for each item can be divided into three categories:
Using jabber:iq:private as in Bookmark Storage (XEP-0048) [1] for storing this information has one big problem: it is hard to mantain roster data in two separate places. When a client is online, then the client application can handle jabber:iq:roster changes and make similar changes in private storage, but when the user is online with a few different resources, or when he is offline, then making the information consistent is very hard task (a roster can be changed when user offline, e.g. if someone is making an account transfer).
But we have a place where this problem does not exist: jabber:iq:roster. We can store it in <item/> subtags. Existing server implementation MUST NOT remove <x/> tags from it. In this case all information always relates to its JID and disappears when this JID removed.
JID, category and type are stored as attributes of <item/> tag. Categories and types are the same as in disco. Official categories and types associated with disco are administered by the XMPP Registrar [2] see <https://xmpp.org/registrar/disco-categories.html>.
<item jid="jdev@conference.jabber.org"
category="conference"
type="text">This information is implementation-dependent, so to provide flexibility for it, the jabber:x:data namespace defined in Data Forms (XEP-0004) [3] must be used. The client can set these parameters by setting this item with this form with type='submit'.
<item jid="romeo@montague.net"
name="Romeo"
subscription="both">
<x xmlns='jabber:x:data' type='form'>
<field type='list-single' label='Visibility' var='visibility'>
<value>visible</value>
<option label='Normal'>
<value>normal</value>
</option>
<option label='Always visible'>
<value>visible</value>
</option>
<option label='Always invisible'>
<value>invisible</value>
</option>
</field>
</x>
...
</item>This information stored in <x/> tag with namespace jabber:x:roster:item. Following subtags can be used for diferent types of JIDs, however client applications can make this set bigger, to implement more functions.
For all categories and types of JID allowed following subtag:
For all JIDs with category=client allowed following subtags:
For all JIDs with category=conference allowed following subtags:
<x xmlns="jabber:x:roster:item"> <always-visible/> <desc>My old good friend</desc> </x>
<iq id="roster_1" type="result">
<query xmlns="jabber:iq:roster">
<item jid="romeo@montague.net"
name="Romeo"
category="user"
type="client"
subscription="both">
<x xmlns="jabber:x:roster:item">
<always-visible/>
<desc>bla bla bla</desc>
</x>
<x xmlns='jabber:x:data' type='form'>
<field type='list-single' label='Visibility' var='visibility'>
<value>visible</value>
<option label='Normal'>
<value>normal</value>
</option>
<option label='Always visible'>
<value>visible</value>
</option>
<option label='Always invisible'>
<value>invisible</value>
</option>
</field>
</x>
</item>
<item jid="jdev@conference.jabber.org"
name="Developers Zone"
category="conference"
type="text"
subscription="none">
<x xmlns="jabber:x:roster:item">
<password>bigsecret</password>
<auto-join/>
<nick>aleksey</nick>
<nick>alexey</nick>
<desc>Jabber developers talks</desc>
</x>
</item>
</query>
</iq> This document in other formats: XML PDF
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The Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is defined in the XMPP Core (RFC 6120) and XMPP IM (RFC 6121) specifications contributed by the XMPP Standards Foundation to the Internet Standards Process, which is managed by the Internet Engineering Task Force in accordance with RFC 2026. Any protocol defined in this document has been developed outside the Internet Standards Process and is to be understood as an extension to XMPP rather than as an evolution, development, or modification of XMPP itself.
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Errata can be sent to <editor@xmpp.org>.
The following requirements keywords as used in this document are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119: "MUST", "SHALL", "REQUIRED"; "MUST NOT", "SHALL NOT"; "SHOULD", "RECOMMENDED"; "SHOULD NOT", "NOT RECOMMENDED"; "MAY", "OPTIONAL".
1. XEP-0048: Bookmark Storage <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0048.html>.
2. The XMPP Registrar maintains a list of reserved protocol namespaces as well as registries of parameters used in the context of XMPP extension protocols approved by the XMPP Standards Foundation. For further information, see <https://xmpp.org/registrar/>.
3. XEP-0004: Data Forms <https://xmpp.org/extensions/xep-0004.html>.
Note: Older versions of this specification might be available at http://xmpp.org/extensions/attic/
END