NOTATION/MIME (was Re: Recent XML WG decisions)

Peter Murray-Rust (Peter@ursus.demon.co.uk)
Sat, 13 Sep 1997 12:16:38 GMT

In message <199709130538.WAA07282@boethius.eng.sun.com> Jon.Bosak@eng.Sun.COM (Jon Bosak) writes:
[... decision of XML-WG omitted...]
>
> 2. Chris Maden's suggestion that NOTATION System Identifiers
> should be mime types. The WG liked the idea, but declined to
> modify the spec to achieve tihs effect; among other things,
> URLs and mime types are not syntactically distinguishable. It
> was the feeling of the group that it would be desirable that a
> new URL scheme be created to allow a URL to locate a mime type.

I am not wanting to re-open this discussion/decision, but I'd be very
grateful for clarification as to how a SytemID is used to identify the
type of a NOTATION. If I wish to identify it as 'image/gif', how do I
do this in practice? Is there a set of URLs that map onto current MIME types,
or is it impossible in XML to state what the MIME type of a NOTATION is?
[If so this is a pity, especially since HTTP, Java, etc. support MIME types.]
If it *is* impossible, how is a URL used with a NOTATION in practice, other
than simply holding a textual description relating to it.

Does the last sentence mean that the XML-WG hopes to come up with such a
scheme or that some other body (e.g. IETF) may/might do so?

P.

-- 
Peter Murray-Rust, domestic net connection
Virtual School of Molecular Sciences
http://www.vsms.nottingham.ac.uk/