Let's delve into the world of MIME types: **What are MIME Types?** - **Full Form:** [[MIME]] stands for [[Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions]]. - **Purpose:** They act as standard labels for classifying different types of files and content transmitted over the Internet (emails, web pages, downloads, etc.). - **Structure:** A MIME type consists of a `type` and a `subtype` separated by a slash. - **Type:** The general category of the content (text, image, application, etc.) - **Subtype:** The specific format within that category (plain, jpeg, pdf, zip, etc.) Example: `text/html` (HTML webpage), `image/png` (PNG image) **Why MIME Types Matter** 1. **Browser Interpretation:** Web browsers use MIME types to determine how to display content. For example, a `text/html` MIME type tells the browser to render the content as an HTML page. 2. **Email Attachments:** Email clients use MIME types to understand how to handle attachments, whether to open them with a specific program or offer a download option. 3. **Server-Side Handling:** Web servers use MIME types to send the correct `Content-Type` header in HTTP responses, helping clients understand the type of data they're receiving. **Common MIME Types** - **Text:** `text/plain`, `text/html`, `text/csv` - **Images:** `image/jpeg`, `image/png`, `image/gif` - **Audio:** `audio/mpeg`, `audio/wav`, `audio/ogg` - **Video:** `video/mp4`, `video/webm` - **Applications:** `application/pdf`, `application/json`, `application/zip` **Finding MIME Types** - **Reference:** The official IANA registry lists available MIME types: [https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml](https://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/media-types.xhtml) - **Tools:** - **File Extension Lookup:** Many websites offer MIME type lookups based on filename extensions. - **Python:** You can use the `mimetypes` module in Python to guess the MIME type of a file. # References ```dataview Table title as Title, authors as Authors where contains(subject, "Mime") or contains(subject, "mime") sort modified desc, authors, title ```