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.
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
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proliferation of Media Types is not a hindrance to interoperability, the original procedure is excessively restrictive and needs to be generalized.
This document addresses the specific questions raised and provides an administrative procedure for the registration of Media Types. This procedure also address the registration requirements needed for the mapping of Object Identifiers (OIDs) for X.400 MHS use to Media Types.
The following procedure has been implemented by the IANA for review and approval of new Media Types. This is not a formal standards process, but rather an administrative procedure intended to allow community comment and sanity checking without excessive time delay.
2.1 Present the Request for Registration to the Community
Send a proposed Media Type (content-type/subtype) to the "ietf- types@cs.utk.edu" mailing list. This mailing list has been established for the sole purpose of reviewing proposed Media Types. Proposed content-types are not formally registered and must use the "x-" notation for the subtype name.
The intent of the public posting is to solicit comments and feedback on the choice of content-type/subtype name, the unambiguity of the references with respect to versions and external profiling information, the choice of which OIDs to use, and a review of the security considerations section. It should be noted that the proposed Media Type does not need to make sense for every possible application. If the Media Type is intended for a limited or specific use, this should be noted in the submission.
2.2 Submit the Content Type to the IANA for Registration
After two weeks, submit the proposed Media Type to the IANA for registration. The request and supporting documentation should be sent to "iana@isi.edu". Provided a reasonable review period has elapsed, the IANA will register the Media Type, assign an OID under the IANA branch, and make the Media Type registration available to the community.
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The Media Type registrations will be posted in the anonymous FTP directory "ftp.isi.edu:in-notes/media-types" and the Media Type will be listed in the periodically issued "Assigned Numbers" RFC [2]. The Media Type description may be published as an Informational RFC by sending it to "rfc-editor@isi.edu" (please follow the instructions to RFC authors [3]).
3.1 MIME Requirements for a Limited Number of Content-Types
Issue: In the asynchronous mail environment, where information on the capabilities of the remote mail agent is not available to the sender, maximum interoperability is attained by restricting the number of content-types used to those "common" content-types expected to be widely implemented. This was asserted as a reason to limit the number of possible content-types and resulted in a registration process with a significant hurdle and delay for those registering content-types.
Comment: The need for "common" content-types formats does not require limiting the registration of new content-types. This restriction may, in fact, hinder interoperability by causing separate registration authorities for specific applications which may register values in conflict with or otherwise incompatible with each other. If a limited set of content-types recommended for a particular application, that should be asserted by a separate applicability statement specific for the application and/or environment.
Issue: Content-Type registration requires an RFC specifying the data format or a reference to a published specification of the data stream. This requirement may be overly restrictive for the use of content-type registration for file attachments and distribution because a public specification may not be available for a number of widely used and exchanged objects.
Comment: MIME required the documentation of a specific content-type to allow the unambiguous identification of a defined type. This intent is met by the identification of a particular software package and version when registering the content-type and is allowed for registration. The appropriateness of using a Media Type with an unavailable specification should not be an issue in the registration.
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Issue: The registration process requires the identification of any known security problems with the content-type.
Comment: It is not required that the content-type be secure or that it be free from risks, but that the known risks be identified. Publication of a content-type does not require an exhaustive security review, and the security considerations section is subject to continuing evaluation. Additional security considerations should be periodically published in an RFC by IANA.
Issue: The registration of a data type does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by IANA or IETF or even certification that the specification is adequate.
Comment: To become Internet Standards, protocol, data objects, or whatever must go through the IETF standards process. This is too difficult and to lengthly a process for the convenient and practical need to register Media Types. It is expected that applicability statements for particular applications will be published from time to time that recommend implementation of, and support for, data types that have proven particularly useful in those contexts.
Most of the words in this RFC were written by other people -- primarily John Klensin and Greg Vaudreuil -- and my contribution has been to slightly modify some sentences, delete some phrases, and to rearrange some paragraphs. This means that i am responsible for all the bad ideas and mangled English, and they deserve the credit (and rightly) all the good ideas.
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RFC 1590 Media Type Registration Procedure March 1994
[1] Borenstein N., and N. Freed, "MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) Part One: Mechanisms for Specifying and Describing the Format of Internet Message Bodies", RFC 1521, Bellcore, Innosoft, September 1993.
[2] Reynolds, J., and J. Postel, "Assigned Numbers", STD 2, RFC 1340, USC/Information Sciences Institute, July 1992.
[3] Postel,J., "Instructions to RFC Authors", RFC 1543, USC/Information Sciences Institute, October 1993.
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Appendix A -- IANA Registration Procedures for Media Types
MIME has been carefully designed to have extensible mechanisms, and it is expected that the set of content-type/subtype pairs and their associated parameters will grow significantly with time. Several other MIME fields, notably character set names, access-type parameters for the message/external-body type, and possibly even Content-Transfer-Encoding values, are likely to have new values defined over time.
In general, parameters in the content-type header field are used to convey supplemental information for various content types, and their use is defined when the content-type and subtype are defined. New parameters should not be defined as a way to introduce new functionality.
In order to ensure that the content-type and subtype (that is Media Type) values are developed in an orderly, well-specified, and public manner, MIME and other applications use the registration process for Media Types defined in this RFC which uses the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) as a central registry for such values.
In order to simplify and standardize this Media Type registration process, this appendix gives templates for the registration of new values with IANA. Each of these is given in the form of an email message template, to be filled in by the registering party.
Registration of New Content-type/subtype Values:
Note that MIME is generally expected to be extended by subtypes. If a new fundamental top-level type is needed, its specification must be published as an RFC or submitted in a form suitable to become an RFC, and be subject to the Internet standards process.
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RFC 1590 Media Type Registration Procedure March 1994
To: IANA@isi.edu Subject: Registration of new Media Type content-type/subtype
Media Type name:
(If the above is not an existing top-level Media Type, please explain why an existing type cannot be used.)
Media subtype name:
Required parameters:
Optional parameters:
Encoding considerations:
Security considerations:
Published specification:
(The published specification must be an Internet RFC or RFC-to-be if a new top-level type is being defined, and must be a publicly available specification in any case.)
Person & email address to contact for further information: