20 lines
1.1 KiB
Plaintext
20 lines
1.1 KiB
Plaintext
Many programs and desktops use the MIME system to represent the types of
|
|
files. Frequently, it is necessary to work out the correct MIME type for
|
|
a file. This is generally done by examining the file's name or contents,
|
|
and looking up the correct MIME type in a database.
|
|
|
|
For interoperability, it is useful for different programs to use the
|
|
same database so that different programs agree on the type of a file,
|
|
and new rules for determining the type apply to all programs.
|
|
|
|
This specification attempts to unify the type-guessing systems currently
|
|
in use by GNOME, KDE and ROX. Only the name-to-type and contents-to-type
|
|
mappings are covered by this spec; other MIME type information, such as
|
|
the default handler for a particular type, or the icon to use to display
|
|
it in a file manager, are not covered since these are a matter of style.
|
|
|
|
In addition, freedesktop.org provides a shared database in this format
|
|
to avoid inconsistencies between desktops. This database has been
|
|
created by converting the existing KDE and GNOME databases to the new
|
|
format and merging them together.
|