Specifications

Web Server Responses (Content Handlers)
When a le is requested, the web server handles the le using the response specied
for the le’s sux. Responses, also known as content handlers, can be an action or a
MIME type. Likely responses include:
Return le as MIME type (you enter the mapping you want to return) Â
Send-as-is (send the le exactly as it exists) Â
Cgi-script (run a CGI script you designate) Â
Imap-le (generate an IMAP mail message) Â
Mac-binary (download a compressed le in MacBinary format) Â
MIME type mappings are divided into two subelds separated by a forward slash,
such as text/plain.
Mac OS X Server includes a list of default MIME type mappings. You can edit these
and add others using Server Admin.
When you specify a MIME type as a response, the server identies the type of data
requested and sends the response you specify. For example, if the browser requests
a le with the sux “jpg” and its associated MIME type mapping is image/jpeg, the
server knows it needs to send an image le and that its format is JPEG. The server
doesn’t need to do anything except serve the data requested.
Actions are handled dierently. If you’ve mapped an action to a sux, your server
runs a program or script, and the result is served to the requesting browser. For
example, if a browser requests a le with the sux “cgi” and its associated response
is the action cgi-script, your server runs the script and returns the resulting data to
the requesting browser.
18 Chapter 1 Web Technologies Overview