Saying goodbye to AddressBook framework

For many years we used AddressBook framework to interact with the built-in AddressBook application on macOS. Since about macOS 10.2 from 2002 those classes have been in the operation system. Since OS X El Capitan 10.11 from 2015 we got the Contacts framework to replace the older AddressBook classes and provide access to the same database for contacts on your application. Somewhere in-between macOS release, the applications for end users got rewritten and renamed to Contacts.app.

The AddressBook plugin is deprecated for a few years and it looks like finally Apple put it on the no-go list for the App Store. At least we got such a notice for the ABPersonView control in one fo the applications of a client. This is one of the controls we provide for address book access.

We already marked AddressBook functions as deprecated, but it may be finally time for you to look through your code and remove all references to AB* classes:

class ABAccountMBS
class ABAddressBookMBS
class ABGroupMBS
class ABMultiValueMBS
class ABMutableMultiValueMBS
class ABPersonMBS
class ABPickerMBS
class ABRecordMBS
class ABSearchElementMBS
class ABPeoplePickerViewMBS
class ABPersonViewMBS
control ABPeoplePickerViewControlMBS
control ABPersonViewControlMBS

Let us know if you have questions on the transition to Contacts framework or if something is missing in our plugins.

For MBS Xojo Plugins we plan to remove AddressBook completely in a cleanup in winter, so 2022 versions may no longer have it. Because if Apple starts to flag those classes as no longer being eligible for App Store submission, it's time to say goodbye.