RFC 1590 (rfc1590) - Page 1 of 7
Media Type Registration Procedure
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group J. Postel
Request for Comments: 1590 ISI
Updates: 1521 March 1994
Category: Informational
Media Type Registration Procedure
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. This memo
does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
this memo is unlimited.
Abstract
Several protocols allow the use of data representing different
"media" such as text, images, audio, and video, and within such media
different encoding styles, such as (in video) jpeg, gif, ief, and
tiff. The Multimedia Internet Message Extensions (MIME) protocol [1]
defined several initial types of multimedia data objects, and a
procedure for registering additional types with the Internet Assigned
Numbers Authority (IANA). Several questions have been raised about
the requirements and administrative procedure for registering MIME
content-type and subtypes, and the use of these Media Types for other
applications. This document addresses these issues and specifies a
procedure for the registration of new Media Types (content-
type/subtypes). It also generalizes the scope of use of these Media
Types to make it appropriate to use the same registrations and
specifications with other applications.
1. Introduction
RFC 1521 [1] defines a procedure for the registration of new data
types for use with the Multimedia Internet Message Extensions (MIME).
This registration mechanism was designed to make the identifiers for
a given data type available for use and to prevent naming conflicts.
With the growth of new multi-media protocols and access mechanisms,
this process has the promise of forming a unified general
registration service for Internet Protocols. These types, previously
called "MIME Types", are now called "Media Types".
The registration process for Media Types (content-type/subtypes) was
initially defined in the context of the asynchronous mail
environments. In this mail environment, there is a need to limit the
number of possible Media Types to increase the likelihood of
interoperability when the capabilities of the remote mail system are
not known. As Media Types are used in new environments, where the
IANA
