Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Extensions(MIME)
MIME is a short for Multi-Purpose Internet Mail Extensions. MIME is an extension of the original Internet e-mail protocol that enables people use the protocol to send and receive graphics, audio, and video files via the Internet mail system as well as the ASCII text handled in the original protocol, i.e the Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP). In addition, MIME supports messages in character sets other than ASCII.
There are many predefined MIME types, such as GIF graphics files and PostScript files. It is also possible to define your own MIME types. In addition to e-mail applications, Web browsers also support various MIME types. This enables the browser to display or output files that are not in HTML format.
Servers insert the MIME header at the beginning of any Web transmission. Clients use this header to select an appropriate “player” application for the type of data the header indicates. Some of these players are built into the Web client or browser, for example, all browsers come with GIF and JPEG image players as well as the ability to handle HTML files, while other players may need to be downloaded.
MIME was defined in 1992 by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). A new version, called S/MIME, supports encrypted messages.
