
Date: Thu, 12 Jan 1995 19:48:16 -0600
From: Gene C Van Nostern <gene@wri.com>
To: iana@ISI.EDU
Subject: Registration of new a MIME Content-Type/Subtype "mathematica"


MIME TYPE NAME:
application


MIME SUBTYPE NAME:
mathematica


REQUIRED PARAMETERS:

A required version parameter must be specified.  The value of the
version parameter should be of one of the following forms:

<major release number>.<minor release number>
<major release number>

<major release number> and <minor release number> are digits.  Examples
of valid values for the version parameter include:

2.2
2


OPTIONAL PARAMETERS:

An optional filename parameter can be specified.


ENCODING CONSIDERATIONS:

All the necessary information in Mathematica notebooks is represented
in text format, usually ASCII.  Whenever possible, Mathematica
notebooks should be transmitted with the 7-bit encoding mechanism.  If
a notebook contains 8-bit characters, the notebook should be
transmitted using the quoted-printable encoding mechnism.  When it is
desired to send the binary portion of a notebook (see COMMENTS section
below), base64 or another suitable encoding scheme should be used.


SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS:

Mathematica notebooks can contain "initialization cells", which are
intended by the notebook's author to be evaluated by a Mathematica
kernel when the notebook is opened.  The Mathematica front end, the
primary viewer of Mathematica notebooks, provides an option to
have a notebook's initialization cells automatically evaluated without
prompting the user.  Since Mathematica can run external programs on
some computers, and can affect the file system on all computers, USERS
OF THE MATHEMATICA FRONT END ARE STRONGLY CAUTIONED TO DISABLE THE
OPTION TO AUTOMATICALLY EVALUATE INITIALIZATION CELLS WHEN RECEIVING
POTENTIALLY UNSAFE MATHEMATICA NOTEBOOKS.  Whenever possible,
MathReader, a read-only notebook viewer, should be used to view
notebooks that are potentially unsafe.  No security risks are present
when MathReader is used to view notebooks.


PUBLISHED SPECIFICATION:
None known.  

Specification by example:

Using a Microsoft Windows version of Wolfram Research's Mathematica
front end, create or open a document.  Choose "Save As" from the File
menu.  Ensure that the type "Notebook (*.ma)" is selected in the File
Type menu in the resulting dialog box.  Enter a filename in the File
Name field, then click "OK".  This creates a file that corresponds to
the MIME Content-Type application/mathematica.

Alternatively, using a non-Microsoft Windows version of Wolfram
Research's Mathematica front end, create or open a document.  Choose
"Save As Special" from the File menu.  Click the "Notebook (TEXT)"
radio button in the "File format" section.  Click "OK".  Enter a
filename in the resulting dialog box.  Click "Save".  This creates a
file that corresponds to the MIME Content-Type
application/mathematica.


COMPANY CONTACT:

  Gene Van Nostern (gene@wri.com)
  Wolfram Research, Inc.
  100 Trade Center Drive
  Champaign, IL  61820-7237

COMMENTS:

When a notebook is created using the method described above, it
contains two "portions": the text portion, which contains all the
notebook's necessary information; and the binary portion, which
facilitates fast loading of the notebook.  On non-Macintosh computers,
the text portion of a notebook is kept in a file that usually has a .ma
extension, and the binary portion is stored in a separate file, with a
.mb extension.  On Macintosh computers, the text portion is stored in
the file's data fork, and the binary portion is stored in its resource
fork.  The text portion of a notebook is often referred to simply as
"the notebook".

