RFC 1740 (rfc1740) - Page 1 of 16

MIME Encapsulation of Macintosh Files - MacMIME

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Network Working Group                                   Patrik Faltstrom
Request for Comments: 1740                 Royal Institute of Technology
Category: Standards Track                                   Dave Crocker
                                                  Brandenburg Consulting
                                                            Erik E. Fair
                                                     Apple Computer Inc.
                                                           December 1994


            MIME Encapsulation of Macintosh files - MacMIME

Status of this Memo

   This document specifies an Internet standards track protocol for the
   Internet community, and requests discussion and suggestions for
   improvements.  Please refer to the current edition of the "Internet
   Official Protocol Standards" (STD 1) for the standardization state
   and status of this protocol.  Distribution of this memo is unlimited.

Abstract

   This memo describes the format to use when sending Apple Macintosh
   files via MIME [BORE93].  The format is compatible with existing
   mechanisms for distributing Macintosh files, while allowing non-
   Macintosh systems access to data in standardized formats.

2.  Introduction

   Files on the Macintosh consists of two parts, called forks:

   Data fork:       The actual data included in the file.  The Data
                    fork is typically the only meaningful part of a
                    Macintosh file on a non-Macintosh computer system.
                    For example, if a Macintosh user wants to send a
                    file of data to a user on an IBM-PC, she would only
                    send the Data fork.

   Resource fork:   Contains a collection of arbitrary attribute/value
                    pairs, including program segments, icon bitmaps,
                    and parametric values.

   Additional information regarding Macintosh files is stored by the
   Finder in a hidden file, called the "Desktop Database".

   Because of the complications in storing different parts of a
   Macintosh file in a non-Macintosh filesystem that only handles
   consecutive data in one part, it is common to convert the Macintosh
   file into some other format before transferring it over the network.



Faltstrom, Crocker & Fair
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