Making the Request

GET HTTP is the recommended method for calling searchContacts and getCategories.

POST is required for the write requests addContacts and synchronize. The format of the POST body should match the output format specified by the format parameter. That is, it should be either a valid XML document or a valid JSON structure, respectively. See Data Representation Formats below.

Developers can use the following URL request to resolve an email address to the full name of a contact, including the YDN-specific authentication parameters WSSID and appid:

http://address.yahooapis.com/v1/searchContacts
   ?format=xml
   &fields=name
   &email.is=jsmith%40yahoo.com
   &appid=88MnJ7R0pW1Z3Fl8JoIHwPvn3MWAbPQR
   &WSSID=A.K87A8842r

The above query retrieves the name of a contact with the specified email address. The actual email address that matched is not returned in the Response, because the query only requests that name fields be returned.

Sample Response:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<!DOCTYPE search-response SYSTEM "http://l.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/lib/pim/r/abook/xml/2/pheasant.dtd">
<search-response>
 <contact cid="74">
  <name fid="75">
   <first>James</first>
   <last>Smith</last>
  </name>
  <category catid="3">buddies</category>
 </contact>
</search-response>

Address Book XML/JSON API Developer Guide

Making the Request