MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. Allows non-ASCII text stuff (pictures, audio, video) to be sent via email.

Hmm, that might have been an early (or the original) definition, but it's more | different than that now -- it specifies the type of file content a particular web page (or portion thereof) uses, and, it determines what program(s) are used on your computer to display that material.

Notes

I should provide a list here of typical mime types, the exact spelling, and (Linux) programs that can handle each.

Links

• http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/MIME.html
• The Road to XHTML 2.0: MIME Types: XHTML's Dirty Little Secret; Mark Pilgrim; March 19, 2003 -- points out that, in many cases, even if a web site provides XHTML, most browsers treat it as HTML.

Contributors

• RandyKramer - 24 Jan 2002
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