Using CURL or other method to access email contacts

[mottwsc]

I have a PHP application and am trying to allow users to import contacts from their favorite email systems.  Right now, I'm targeting yahoo, gmail and hotmail - facebook friends would also be interesting.  I'll need to allow users to log in, of course, and then have all of their contacts pulled into my application.  From there, I'll present them to the user and allow them to pick which ones they want to email about my application.  The important part is that I need to have control over what happens to the contact list to control certain aspects of my application.

 

So, here are my questions:

> Is CURL the right method to use to do this?

> Are there practical examples available that I can use and where might I find them?

> What things would I need to be aware of and prepare for regarding security/hacking since I'm accessing remote sites?

 

Thanks for your guidance.

[Chris92]

There are probably ready made API's out there for you to use for this kind of stuff. I'd google it. I'd be surprised if you only needed CURL as there would probably be some sort of encryption such as GnuPG to connect to some of the services. It most likely can be done. I wish you luck.