Re: LINK TYPE=override/type
Rob (wlkngowl@unix.asb.com)
Fri, 23 Jan 1998 11:11:57 -0500
Message-Id: <199801231627.LAA05850@unix.asb.com>
From: "Rob" <wlkngowl@unix.asb.com>
To: Jukka Korpela <jkorpela@cc.hut.fi>
Date: Fri, 23 Jan 1998 11:11:57 -0500
CC: www-html@w3.org
In-reply-to: <Pine.OSF.3.96.980122084918.1538A-100000@torvi.hut.fi>
Subject: Re: LINK TYPE=override/type
On 22 Jan 98, Jukka Korpela <jkorpela@cc.hut.fi> wrote:
> [..]
> b) If a user agent detects MIME type mismatch between the TYPE value
> and the Content-Type header, what should it do? I'd say it should
> try to give some warning. But which type should it use to determine
> the processing method?
The UA should use the value specified in the TYPE value, since presumably
the author knows better than the server (which may be misconfigured or
not configured for a new type of file, or is unable to determine what
type of file it is).
There may be other reasons as well... if I would like to display a file
as a different type than it is. An example:
<A HREF="mysrc.pl">The Perl source code</A>
may be treated by some servers as "application/perl" or as "unknown".
Browsers may handle this differently, giving a choice to download & save
or to open in an opplication, or if one is lucky to view it as text. As
the author I may want users to view it as text though (or have that
option):
<A HREF="mysrc.pl" TYPE="text/plain">The Perl source code</A>
Which brings to mine a potentially useful hack for embedding HTML source:
<OBJECT DATA="example.html" TYPE="text/plain" ...>
</OBJECT>
Anticipating a potential "well, the server should be properly configured
and if you're a bozo who doesn't care about that it's your problem"
reply, (1) most authors are authors, not system administrators and do
not have the access to configure the server on their ISPs; (2) new file
types that the server has not been properly confgured for yet; and (3)
unusual cases where the server is unable to determine the MIME type
Rob