update or replace address book records using REST

[gtr33m]

Is there any way to update or replace address book records using a REST upload?

I was looking at modifying the mysql tables directly, but using REST as per the documentation was very easy to set up as a recurring task.

The only problem is that every new upload adds duplicates instead of updating or replacing.

The data sync is one way to zimbra, and nothing is added or changed in zimbra, so as an alternative, wiping all records prior to upload is also an option.

[ljm]

Last I looked the REST API didn't support unique identifers for contacts, so I suspect you can't use it to update/delete.

Another option is the SOAP API, in particular: <ModifyContactRequest>.

[gtr33m]

What about just wiping them before upload? Any command I can issue that will wipe all records in the address book? This would accomplish what I'm after.

[ljm]

Via soap, you could call <GetContactsRequest> to get the contact ids, then feed them to <ContactActionRequest> to delete (or move to trash).

If the addressbook is a user-created one rather than the built-in "Contacts" or "Emailed Contacts" then you could:
- find the folder: <SearchRequest>
- delete the folder: <FolderActionRequest>
- create the folder: <CreateFolderRequest>

see soap.txt for a description of the soap methods.