MIME::Type(3)                                  User Contributed Perl Documentation                                 MIME::Type(3)



NAME
       MIME::Type - Definition of one MIME type

SYNOPSIS
        use MIME::Types;
        my $mimetypes = MIME::Types->new;
        my MIME::Type $plaintext = $mimetypes->type('text/plain');
        print $plaintext->mediaType;   # text
        print $plaintext->subType;     # plain

        my @ext = $plaintext->extensions;
        print "@ext"                   # txt asc c cc h hh cpp

        print $plaintext->encoding     # 8bit
        if($plaintext->isBinary)       # false
        if($plaintext->isAscii)        # true
        if($plaintext->equals('text/plain') {...}
        if($plaintext eq 'text/plain') # same

        print MIME::Type->simplified('x-appl/x-zip') #  'appl/zip'

DESCRIPTION
       MIME types are used in MIME entities, for instance as part of e-mail and HTTP traffic.  Sometimes real knowledge about a
       mime-type is need.  Objects of "MIME::Type" store the information on one such type.

       This module is built to conform to the MIME types of RFC's 2045 and 2231.  It follows the official IANA registry at
       http://www.iana.org/assignments/media-types/ and the collection kept at http://www.ltsw.se/knbase/internet/mime.htp

OVERLOADED
       overload: string comparison

           When a MIME::Type object is compared to either a string or an other MIME::TYpe, the equals() method is called.
           Comparison is smart, which means that it extends common string comparison with some features which are defined in the
           related RFCs.

       overload: stringification

           The stringification (use of the object in a place where a string is required) will result in the type name, the same
           as type() returns.

           example: use of stringification

            my $mime = MIME::Type->new('text/html');
            print "$mime\n";   # explicit stringification
            print $mime;       # implicit stringification

METHODS
   Initiation
       MIME::Type->new(OPTIONS)

           Create (instantiate) a new MIME::Type object which manages one mime type.

            Option    --Default
            encoding    <depends on type>
            extensions  []
            simplified  <derived from type>
            system      undef
            type        <required>

           . encoding => '7bit'|'8bit'|'base64'|'quoted-printable'

               How must this data be encoded to be transported safely.  The default depends on the type: mimes with as main type
               "text/" will default to "quoted-printable" and all other to "base64".

           . extensions => REF-ARRAY

               An array of extensions which are using this mime.

           . simplified => STRING

               The mime types main- and sub-label can both start with "x-", to indicate that is a non-registered name.  Of
               course, after registration this flag can disappear which adds to the confusion.  The simplified string has the
               "x-" thingies removed and are translated to lower-case.

           . system => REGEX

               Regular expression which defines for which systems this rule is valid.  The REGEX is matched on $^O.

           . type => STRING

               The type which is defined here.  It consists of a type and a sub-type, both case-insensitive.  This module will
               return lower-case, but accept upper-case.

   Attributes
       $obj->encoding

           Returns the type of encoding which is required to transport data of this type safely.

       $obj->extensions

           Returns a list of extensions which are known to be used for this mime type.

       $obj->simplified([STRING])

       MIME::Type->simplified([STRING])

           Returns the simplified mime type for this object or the specified STRING.  Mime type names can get officially
           registered.  Until then, they have to carry an "x-" preamble to indicate that.  Of course, after recognition, the
           "x-" can disappear.  In many cases, we prefer the simplified version of the type.

           example: results of simplified()

            my $mime = MIME::Type->new(type => 'x-appl/x-zip');
            print $mime->simplified;                     # 'appl/zip'
            print $mime->simplified('text/plain');       # 'text/plain'
            print MIME::Type->simplified('x-xyz/x-abc'); # 'xyz/abc'

       $obj->system

           Returns the regular expression which can be used to determine whether this type is active on the system where you are
           working on.

       $obj->type

           Returns the long type of this object, for instance 'text/plain'

   Knowledge
       $obj->equals(STRING|MIME)

           Compare this mime-type object with a STRING or other object.  In case of a STRING, simplification will take place.

       $obj->isAscii

           Returns false when the encoding is base64, and true otherwise.  All encodings except base64 are text encodings.

       $obj->isBinary

           Returns true when the encoding is base64.

       $obj->isRegistered

           Mime-types which are not registered by IANA nor defined in RFCs shall start with an "x-".  This counts for as well
           the media-type as the sub-type.  In case either one of the types starts with "x-" this method will return false.

       $obj->isSignature

           Returns true when the type is in the list of known signatures.

       $obj->mediaType

           The media type of the simplified mime.  For 'text/plain' it will return 'text'.

           For historical reasons, the 'mainType' method still can be used to retreive the same value.  However, that method is
           deprecated.

       $obj->subType

           The sub type of the simplified mime.  For 'text/plain' it will return 'plain'.

DIAGNOSTICS
       Error: Type parameter is obligatory.

           When a MIME::Type object is created, the type itself must be specified with the "type" option flag.

SEE ALSO
       This module is part of MIME-Types distribution version 1.28, built on September 07, 2009. Website:
       http://perl.overmeer.net/mimetypes/

LICENSE
       Copyrights 1999,2001-2009 by Mark Overmeer. For other contributors see ChangeLog.

       This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as Perl itself.  See
       http://www.perl.com/perl/misc/Artistic.html



perl v5.12.0                                               2009-09-06                                              MIME::Type(3)