Processing the Response in the Client Using the MIME Type

The Service function generates the data and sends it to the client that made the request. When the server sends the data to the client, it also sends headers. These headers include whichever MIME type attributes are known (which is usually type).

When the client receives the data, it uses the MIME type to decide what to do with the data. For browser clients, the browser usually displays the data in the browser window.

If the requested resource cannot be displayed in a browser but needs to be handled by another application, its type starts with application/, for example application/octet-stream (for .bin file extensions) or application/x-maker (for .fm file extensions). The client has its own set of user-editable mappings that tells it which application to use to handle which types of data.

For example, if the type is application/x-maker, the client usually handles it by opening Adobe® FrameMaker® to display the file.