Is MHTML only for e-mail?

The title of RFC 2110 is "MIME E-mail Encapsulation of Aggregate Documents,
such as HTML (MHTML)". The title thus says that this standard is for e-mail
only. In several places inside RFC 2110 the proposed standard says that it
is for sending HTML in e-mail.

However, the recent discussion about inheritance of Content-Base has made
us aware that multipart/related may be sent via HTTP too. That is, it is
feasible that an HTTP server sends a multipart/related containing both HTML
text and embedded objects as separate body parts within a
multipart/related.

Question 1: Is it the intention that HTTP can be used in this way?

Question 2: Should MHTML be amended to say that it covers all sending of
HTML in MIME, not only through SMTP but also through HTTP and possibly
other protocols, for example FTP?

Question 3: A main principle of MHTML is that if a HTML document is sent
as part of a multipart/related, lookup of links in the HTML document
should first go to other body parts within the multipart/related,
and ordinary HTTP lookup should only be done if there is no match
in another body part. Is this principle true also when multipart/related
is sent via HTTP?

Question 4: If the answer to question 2 is "yes", does this mean that
the IETF MHTML group should liaise with some other IETF group on this
issue? I am sending a copy of this message to the mailing list for the
IETF working group on HTTP. Since I am not a member of that group,
please post responses also to the mhtml mailing list.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacob Palme <jpalme@dsv.su.se> (Stockholm University and KTH)
for more info see URL: http://www.dsv.su.se/~jpalme

Received on Saturday, 4 October 1997 08:12:59 UTC