- From: Julian Reschke <julian.reschke@gmx.de>
- Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2011 18:02:10 +0100
- To: Paul Cotton <Paul.Cotton@microsoft.com>
- CC: "public-html@w3.org" <public-html@w3.org>
SUMMARY In the description of Internet Media Types for video playback [1], the spec shows the "codecs" parameter in use with "application/octet-stream". This is confusing because that parameter isn't defined on this media type. RATIONALE The spec tries to special-case "application/octet-stream" as a type that allows sniffing (whether that's a good idea is a separate question), and then use the "codecs" parameter with "application/octet-stream" to illustrate when sniffing is not allowed. This is confusing, as "codecs" isn't defined on this type. The confusion could be avoided by rephrasing the note. DETAILS In [1], replace 'The MIME type "application/octet-stream" with no parameters is never a type that the user agent knows it cannot render. User agents must treat that type as equivalent to the lack of any explicit Content-Type metadata when it is used to label a potential media resource. Note: In the absence of a specification to the contrary, the MIME type "application/octet-stream" when used with parameters, e.g. "application/octet-stream;codecs=theora", is a type that the user agent knows it cannot render, since that parameter is not defined for that type.' by (first paragraph only shown for context): 'The MIME type "application/octet-stream" with no parameters is never a type that the user agent knows it cannot render. User agents must treat that type as equivalent to the lack of any explicit Content-Type metadata when it is used to label a potential media resource. Note: "application/octet-stream" is special-cased here; if any parameter appears with it, it should be treated just like any other MIME type. This is a deviation from the rule that unknown MIME type parameters should be ignored." IMPACT 1. Positive Effects Avoids confusion about "codecs" on application/octet-stream, and the general that recipients should ignore unknown parameters. 2. Negative Effects None. 3. Conformance Classes Changes None. 4. Risks None. REFERENCES [1] <http://dev.w3.org/html5/spec/Overview.html#mime-types>
Received on Saturday, 22 January 2011 17:15:31 UTC