Assignment: (Understand only)

1. Understand what a file extension is.

2. Know some of the listed file types and understand what they store.

1. Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) and File Extensions: When sending files over the Internet a file name extension must be be attached to a file. The extension identifies the file as either text or binary. The receiving end uses the file name extension to determine what kind of file it is and what program is expected to open or use the data. When a browser asks for a file to be retrieved, it sends the server a list of the file types it can handle. The server then examines the list and the requested file name extension and matches the correct transmission method to the file. In the same way, when an e-mail attachment contains a file, the sender's mail client will attach a MIME type to the file. Where browsers and FTP clients use file extensions to determine the file type, e-mail clients use the MIME type to determine the action at the receiving end.