Introduction

Over time much valuable data has been gathered in BBDB database files. Many wish to share parts or all of this information with others. They also wish to have access to this same information from other systems (like personal digital assistants) lacking straightforward BBDB access.

For these reasons, we have prepared a family of filters that convert the information in BBDB to and from a variety of other formats. We have put in place some general frameworks to accomplish a set of common functions. These include:

Output filters:

export BBDB information to other formats. Section 3 describes the general framework for output filters and currently supported filters.

Input filters:

import information from other formats into BBDB. Section 4 describes the general framework for input filters and currently supported filters.

Action Processors:

Apply extendible functions to a set of selected BBDB entries. Section 5 describes the general framework for action processors and currently processors.

Group Processors:

Tools to allow selection of subsets of BBDB entries and manipulation of such entries. Section 6 describes the general framework for group processors and currently supported processors.

The combination of above features allows for extremly powerful results.

Our hope is that over time this collection of BBDB filters will grow through contributed code.

About This Package

This package is a collection of filters and is called ``BBDB Filters & Processors''. It has been somewhat tested with BBDB version 1.50. The present state of the software is still preliminary although it has proved useful.

About This Manual

This documentation applies to Version 0.3 of the ``BBDB Filters & Processors'' package. The documentation is presently skeletal and very preliminary. It mostly provides the user with instructions for use, and very little background is included. Familiarity with Emacs Lisp is assumed for some sections.