RFC 3823 (rfc3823) - Page 1 of 8
MIME Media Type for the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML)
Alternative Format: Original Text Document
Network Working Group B. Kovitz
Request for Comments: 3823 Caltech
Category: Informational June 2004
MIME Media Type for the Systems Biology Markup Language (SBML)
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2004).
Abstract
This document registers the MIME sub-type application/sbml+xml, a
media type for SBML, the Systems Biology Markup Language. SBML is
defined by The SBML Team at the California Institute of Technology
and interested members of the systems biology community.
1. Introduction
SBML is an XML format for representing and exchanging models of
biochemical reaction networks used in systems biology. SBML:
o enables researchers in systems biology to use multiple tools, such
as simulators, editors, differential-equation solvers, and
visualizers, on a single model without rewriting the model for
each tool;
o enables researchers and publishers to make models available on-
line to other researchers even if they use a different software
environment;
o enables models, and the intellectual effort put into them, to
survive beyond the lifetime of the software tools used to create
them.
Currently, about 60 software applications use SBML, and researchers
are using these applications to develop quantitative and qualitative
computational models, mostly in cell biology. In addition, several
consortia and alliances have standardized SBML as their model
Kovitz Informational