Address book
Encyclopedia
An address book or a name and address book (NAB) is a book
or a database
used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields
(for example: first name, last name, company name, address
, telephone
number, e-mail
address, fax
number, mobile phone
number). Most such systems store the details in alphabetical order of people's names, although in paper
-based address books entries can easily end up out of order as the owner inserts details of more individuals or as people move. Many address books use small ring binder
s that allow adding, removing and shuffling of pages to make room.
is little black book (or simply black book). Such books are used as dating
guides, listing people who the owner has dated in the past or hopes to in the future, and details of their various relationships. More explicit variations are guides for sexual partner
s. It is unclear how prevalent this is in practice or when it originated, though such books have been mentioned in many pieces of popular culture
. For example, the 1953 film version of Kiss Me, Kate
features a musical scene in which Howard Keel
's character laments the loss of the social life he enjoyed before marriage, naming numerous female romantic encounters whilst perusing a miniature black book. More recently, the mid-2000s Guinness Brewmasters
advertising campaign features the "little black book" as an invention of one of the brewmasters.
's Mac OS X
. Simple address books have been incorporated into e-mail
software for many years, though more advanced versions have emerged in the 1990s and beyond; and also in mobile phone
s.
A personal information manager
(PIM) integrates an address book, calendar
, task list, and sometimes other features.
Entries can be imported and exported from the software in order to transfer them between programs or computers. The common file formats for these operations are:
Individual entries are frequently transferred as vCard
s (*.vcf), which are roughly comparable to physical business card
s. And some software applications like Lotus Notes
and Open Contacts can handle a vCard file containing multiple vCard records.
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
or a database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields
Field (computer science)
In computer science, data that has several parts can be divided into fields. Relational databases arrange data as sets of database records, also called rows. Each record consists of several fields; the fields of all records form the columns....
(for example: first name, last name, company name, address
Address (geography)
An address is a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used for describing the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along with other identifiers such as house or...
, telephone
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
number, e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
address, fax
Fax
Fax , sometimes called telecopying, is the telephonic transmission of scanned printed material , normally to a telephone number connected to a printer or other output device...
number, mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
number). Most such systems store the details in alphabetical order of people's names, although in paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
-based address books entries can easily end up out of order as the owner inserts details of more individuals or as people move. Many address books use small ring binder
Ring binder
Ring binders are folders in which punched pieces of paper may be held by means of clamps running through the holes in the paper...
s that allow adding, removing and shuffling of pages to make room.
Little black book
A related term that has entered the popular lexiconLexicon
In linguistics, the lexicon of a language is its vocabulary, including its words and expressions. A lexicon is also a synonym of the word thesaurus. More formally, it is a language's inventory of lexemes. Coined in English 1603, the word "lexicon" derives from the Greek "λεξικόν" , neut...
is little black book (or simply black book). Such books are used as dating
Courtship
Courtship is the period in a couple's relationship which precedes their engagement and marriage, or establishment of an agreed relationship of a more enduring kind. In courtship, a couple get to know each other and decide if there will be an engagement or other such agreement...
guides, listing people who the owner has dated in the past or hopes to in the future, and details of their various relationships. More explicit variations are guides for sexual partner
Sexual partner
Sexual partners are people who engage in sexual activity together. The sexual partners can be of any gender or sexual orientation. The sexual partners may be in a committed relationship, either on an exclusive basis or not, or engage in the sexual activity on a casual basis...
s. It is unclear how prevalent this is in practice or when it originated, though such books have been mentioned in many pieces of popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
. For example, the 1953 film version of Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
features a musical scene in which Howard Keel
Howard Keel
Harold Clifford Keel , known professionally as Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer. He starred in many film musicals of the 1950s...
's character laments the loss of the social life he enjoyed before marriage, naming numerous female romantic encounters whilst perusing a miniature black book. More recently, the mid-2000s Guinness Brewmasters
Guinness Brewmasters
The Guinness Brewmasters are animated advertising icons of Guinness beer used since 2004.One is an inventor, constantly introducing his inventions to the other, who responds unequivocally to every invention with an enthusiastic "Brilliant!" The other than often responds with a just-as-enthusiastic...
advertising campaign features the "little black book" as an invention of one of the brewmasters.
Software address book
Address books can also appear as software designed for this purpose, such as the "Address Book" application included with Apple ComputerApple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
's Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
. Simple address books have been incorporated into e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
software for many years, though more advanced versions have emerged in the 1990s and beyond; and also in mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s.
A personal information manager
Personal information manager
A personal information manager is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. The acronym PIM is now, more commonly, used in reference to Personal information management as a field of study...
(PIM) integrates an address book, calendar
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
, task list, and sometimes other features.
Entries can be imported and exported from the software in order to transfer them between programs or computers. The common file formats for these operations are:
- LDIFLDAP Data Interchange FormatThe LDAP Data Interchange Format is a standard plain text data interchange format for representing LDAP directory content and update requests. LDIF conveys directory content as a set of records, one record for each object...
(*.ldif, *.ldi) - Tab delimited (*.tab, *.txt)
- Comma-separatedComma-separated valuesA comma-separated values file stores tabular data in plain-text form. As a result, such a file is easily human-readable ....
(*.csv) - vCardVCardvCard is a file format standard for electronic business cards. vCards are often attached to e-mail messages, but can be exchanged in other ways, such as on the World Wide Web or Instant Messaging...
(*.vcf)
Individual entries are frequently transferred as vCard
VCard
vCard is a file format standard for electronic business cards. vCards are often attached to e-mail messages, but can be exchanged in other ways, such as on the World Wide Web or Instant Messaging...
s (*.vcf), which are roughly comparable to physical business card
Business card
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company affiliation and contact information such as street addresses, telephone...
s. And some software applications like Lotus Notes
Lotus Notes
Lotus Notes is the client of a collaborative platform originally created by Lotus Development Corp. in 1989. In 1995 Lotus was acquired by IBM and became known as the Lotus Development division of IBM and is now part of the IBM Software Group...
and Open Contacts can handle a vCard file containing multiple vCard records.
Online address book
An online address book typically enables users to create their own web page (or profile page) which is then indexed by search engines like Google and Yahoo. This in turn enables users to be found by other people via a search of their name and then contacted via their web page containing their personal information. Ability to find people registered with online address books via search engine searches usually varies according to the commonness of the name and the amount of results for the name. Typically users of such systems can synchronize their contact details with other users that they know to ensure that their contact information is kept up to date. Examples of online address books include Plaxo, Telnic, Unyk, conXt, and WikiWorldBook.Network Address Book
Currently, most people have many different address books: their email accounts, their mobile phone, and the "friends lists" on their social networks. A Network Address Book allows them to organize and manage all of their address books through a single interface and share their contacts across their different address books and social networks.See also
- CalendarCalendarA calendar is a system of organizing days for social, religious, commercial, or administrative purposes. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months, and years. The name given to each day is known as a date. Periods in a calendar are usually, though not...
- Contact listContact listA contact list is a collection of screen names in an instant messaging or e-mail program or online game or mobile phone. It has various trademarked and proprietary names in different contexts....
- Mobile social address bookMobile social address bookA mobile social address book is a phonebook on a mobile device that enables subscribers to build and grow their social networks. The mobile social address book transforms the phone book on any standard mobile phone into a social networking platform that makes it easier for subscribers to exchange...
- Palm Pilot
- Personal information managerPersonal information managerA personal information manager is a type of application software that functions as a personal organizer. The acronym PIM is now, more commonly, used in reference to Personal information management as a field of study...
- RolodexRolodexA Rolodex is a rotating file device used to store business contact information currently manufactured by Newell Rubbermaid. The Rolodex holds specially shaped index cards; the user writes the contact information for one person or company on each card...
- Suvorin directories
- Telephone directoryTelephone directoryA telephone directory is a listing of telephone subscribers in a geographical area or subscribers to services provided by the organization that publishes the directory...
- Windows Address BookWindows Address BookWindows Address Book is a component of Microsoft Windows that lets users keep a single list of contacts that can be shared by multiple programs. It is most commonly used by Outlook Express. It was introduced with Internet Explorer 3 in 1996 and improved in subsequent versions. The Windows Address...