To: postel@ISI.EDU
Cc: szilles@mv.us.adobe.com
Subject: Registration of MIME type: application/pdf
Date: Tue, 06 Sep 1994 15:56:11 PDT
From: "Steve Zilles" <szilles@mv.us.adobe.com>


To:  IANA@isi.edu
Subject:  Registration of new MIME content-type/subtype

      MIME type name: application

      (If the above is not an existing top-level MIME type,
      please explain why an existing type cannot be used.)

      MIME subtype name: pdf

        A Content-Type of "application/pdf" indicates a document in
        Portable Document Format.  Currently  there are two variants of
        the PDF language: the original level 1 variant is described
        in [PDF] and the more recent level 1.1 variant is described
        in an Adobe Systems Application Note that is an addendum to [PDF].

      Required parameters: none

      Optional parameters: none

      Encoding considerations: PDF files may contain binary data (either
        in strings or in streams (which are used to represent images
        among other things).

      Security considerations:
        
        There are two levels of viewer for PDF files: The first level of
        viewer is completely self contained and is capable of displaying
        or printing the PDF file and maybe capable of changing the file
        and writing out a revised file. (Here "file" stands for the MIME
        content portion that is in PDF form.) The second level of viewer
        is capable of supporting plug-in modules that extend the
        functionality of the viewer and may be able to perform any
        operation that is legal in the process/thread in which the
        viewer is running.  Message-sending software should not make use
        of arbitrary plug-ins; they are likely to be missing from
        some implementations. Message-receiving and -displaying software
        should make sure that any nonstandard viewer plug-ins are
        secure and don't present any kind of threat.

      Published specification:

        [PDF](Version 1.0): Portable Document Format Reference Manual,
        Adobe Systems, Inc, Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. ISBN
        0-201-62628-4, 1993.

        Version 1.1: An Adobe Systems, Inc Technical Note

      (The published specification must be an Internet RFC or
      RFC-to-be if a new top-level type is being defined, and
      must be a publicly available specification in any
      case.)

      Person & email address to contact for further information:

        Tim Bienz 
        Adobe System Inc.
        1585 Charleston Rd.
        Mountain View, CA 94039-7900
        USA
        tbienz@adobe.com
or
        Stephen Zilles
        Adobe System Inc.
        1585 Charleston Rd.
        Mountain View, CA 94039-7900
        USA
        szilles@adobe.com

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