The data model is based on the concept of a calendar entity. The calendar is represented by a named collection of administrative calendar attributes and calendar entries. A calendar is owned by an individual user. The user could represent a person, a group of people, or a resource.
The calendar attributes are a set of named values that may represent common, implementation-specific, or application-specific administrative characteristics about the calendar. For example, time zone, name, owner, and access rights to the calendar can be specified in individual calendar attributes.
The calendar entries are the primary components of a calendar. The three classes of calendar entries follow:
Events
To Dos
Memos
Calendar entries are represented by a uniquely named collection of entry attributes. The entry attributes are a set of named values that represent common, implementation-specific, or application-specific characteristics of the calendar entry. For example, an event might contain a start and end date and time, a description, and a subtype. A to do might contain the date it was created, the due date, a priority, and a status. A memo might contain the date it was created and a text content or description.
The calendar attributes and entry attributes consist of a name, type, and value tuple. Common attributes defined by the specification can be extended. Implementations can define implementation-specific attributes. In addition, some implementations may provide the capability for applications to define application-specific attributes. The CDE implementation supports application-defined attributes.