Calendaring Extensions to WebDAV, or CalDAV, is an
Internet standard
In computer network engineering, an Internet Standard is a normative specification of a technology or methodology applicable to the Internet. Internet Standards are created and published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). They allow ...
allowing a
client to access and manage calendar data along with the ability to schedule meetings with users on the same or on remote
servers.
It lets multiple users in different locations share, search and synchronize calendar data.
It extends the
WebDAV
WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning) is a set of extensions to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which allows user agents to collaboratively author contents ''directly'' in an HTTP web server by providing facilities for conc ...
(
HTTP
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is an application layer protocol in the Internet protocol suite model for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems. HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web, wher ...
-based protocol for data manipulation) specification and uses the
iCalendar
The Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification (iCalendar) is a media type which allows users to store and exchange calendaring and scheduling information such as events, to-dos, journal entries, and free/busy information, ...
format for the calendar data.
The access protocol is defined by .
Extensions to CalDAV for scheduling are standardized as .
The protocol is used by many important open-source applications.
History
The ''CalDAV'' specification was first published in 2003 as an
Internet Draft submitted to the Internet Engineering Task Force (
IETF
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a standards organization for the Internet standard, Internet and is responsible for the technical standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It has no formal membership roster ...
) by Lisa Dusseault. In March 2007, the ''CalDAV'' specification was finished and published by the IETF as RFC 4791, authored by Cyrus Daboo (
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
), Bernard Desruissaux (
Oracle
An oracle is a person or thing considered to provide insight, wise counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. If done through occultic means, it is a form of divination.
Descript ...
), and Lisa Dusseault (
CommerceNet
CommerceNet is a 501(c)6 organization established in 1994 to promote electronic commerce on the Internet.The company was initially founded by Murray Sherwood and Martin Blackburn who sold it to A.T and T in 1996. The organisation initially focused ...
). ''CalDAV'' is designed for implementation by any
collaborative software
Collaborative software or groupware is application software designed to help people working on a common task to attain their goals. One of the earliest definitions of groupware is "intentional group processes plus software to support them."
Regar ...
, client or server, that needs to maintain, access or share collections of events. It is developed as an
open standard
An open standard is a standard that is openly accessible and usable by anyone. It is also a common prerequisite that open standards use an open license that provides for extensibility. Typically, anybody can participate in their development due to ...
to foster interoperability between software from different vendors.
Specification
The architecture of ''CalDAV'' (partially inherited from the underlying specifications) organizes the data (events, tasks, free-busy info, notes) in directories (collections), where multiple items (resources) reside. The resources and collections can be accessed by one or more users, using standard HTTP and DAV semantics to detect conflicting changes, or to provide locking.
For access control the concept of
ACLs are used, so each operation (view, edit, delete etc.) can be denied or granted per user. Therefore, the specification requires that CalDAV servers must support "WebDAV Access Control Protocol"
RFC 3744.
The calendar resources must use iCalendar format, which allows the server to understand and process the data. Parsing the iCalendar items is necessary, because the server has to support a number of calendaring-specific operations such as doing free-busy time reports and expansion of recurring events. With this functionality, a user may synchronize their own calendar to a CalDAV server, and share it among multiple devices or with other users. The protocol also supports non-personal calendars, such as calendars for sites or organizations.
See also
*
Exchange ActiveSync
*
Comparison of CalDAV and CardDAV implementations
*
Calendar
A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...
*
CardDAV
vCard Extensions to WebDAV (CardDAV) is an address book client/server protocol designed to allow users to access and share contact data on a server.
The CardDAV protocol was developed by the IETF and was published as in August 2011. CardDAV is ...
* GroupDAV, an effort to create a simplified, straightforward protocol for calendars as well as contacts.
*
iCalendar
The Internet Calendaring and Scheduling Core Object Specification (iCalendar) is a media type which allows users to store and exchange calendaring and scheduling information such as events, to-dos, journal entries, and free/busy information, ...
*
Scheduling OSID defines a software interface abstraction for calendaring protocols.
*
SyncML
*
vCalendar
*
WebDAV
WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning) is a set of extensions to the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), which allows user agents to collaboratively author contents ''directly'' in an HTTP web server by providing facilities for conc ...
References
External links
CalDAV Resource SiteCalConnect, The Calendaring and Scheduling ConsortiumWebDAV ResourcesOpen Calendar Sharing and Scheduling with CalDAVL. Dusseault, J. Whitehead, IEEE Internet Computing 9(2)
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{{Use mdy dates, date=June 2019
Application layer protocols
Calendaring standards