MIME Types
Also referred to as "content types," this is data type information that describes certain media. The acronym "MIME" stands for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, which are used to properly identify the media type of an e-mail attachment.
Sometimes you'll insert type information into syntax, such as when linking to a style sheet, as in this case:
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="site.css" />
Types are classified by the primary type, and the subtype. A primary type refers to the kind of file in question, such as text, multipart, message, application, image, audio, video, and model. Subtypes define the specific file format. In the markup sample above, text is the primary type, and css is the subtype.
Table 3.3 shows samples of content types that can be used in HTML and XHTML.
Table 3.3 -Examples of MIME Types in HTML and XHTML
Primary Type |
Subtype |
text |
css |
text |
html |
application |
|
image |
jpeg |
image |
gif |
audio |
mpeg |
video |
mpeg |
video |
quicktime |
model |
vrml |
NOTE
For a complete list of registered media types, see http://www.isi.edu/in-notes/iana/assignments/media-types/media-types.