Re: MIME multipart/* vs HTTP

>>>>> "DK" == Dave Kristol <dmk@bell-labs.com> writes:

DK> In my ignorance of MIME, I've been puzzled about this boundary
DK> business.  Assuming each multipart contains a Content-Length header,
DK> does it matter what the boundary is?  Can't the recipient just eat the
DK> number of content bytes before looking for the next boundary?  If so,
DK> the boundary strings don't have to be particularly clever, do they?

  I had also considered the use of Content-Length to address this; the
  HTTP spec seems to allow it:

2068> 19.4.5 HTTP Header Fields in Multipart Body-Parts

2068>    In MIME, most header fields in multipart body-parts are generally
2068>    ignored unless the field name begins with "Content-". In HTTP/1.1,
2068>    multipart body-parts may contain any HTTP header fields which are
2068>    significant to the meaning of that part.

  So is it legal for me to put an HTTP/1.1 Content-Length header into
  a multipart/* part to indicate its length?  It seems a workable (in
  fact, preferable) solution.  As server vendors we can't assume that
  though.

--
Scott Lawrence           EmWeb Embedded Server       <lawrence@agranat.com>
Agranat Systems, Inc.        Engineering            http://www.agranat.com/

Received on Wednesday, 30 April 1997 09:54:49 UTC