Re: text/lp [was Re: discouraged by .docx was Re: Plagued by PPTX again]

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On 11/27/2011 11:38 AM, John C Klensin wrote:
> 
> 
> --On Sunday, November 27, 2011 11:20 -0800 Marc Petit-Huguenin
> <petithug@xxxxxxx> wrote:
> 
> 
>> On 11/27/2011 10:36 AM, John C Klensin wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> --On Sunday, November 27, 2011 08:20 -0800 Marc Petit-Huguenin
>>> <petithug@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>  
>>>> The problem here is that RFC and Internet-Drafts are not
>>>> plain ASCII.  They are technically in a special format that
>>>> I would call "line-printer ready text file", and ASCII is the
>>>> encoding, not the format.  What is needed is:
>>>>
>>>> - - A mime-type for line-printer ready text (say text/lp)
>>>> - - An heuristic to recognize text/lp files (it's too late
>>>> for a specific extension).  Apache HTTP server can use the
>>>> AddType directive for these files[1]. - - A program to
>>>> display text/lp files, one at least for each platform.  If
>>>> someone take care of the mime-type, I'll write the program
>>>> to display correctly text/lp files on the Android platform.
>>>
>>> Out of curiosity (and again my better judgment about getting
>>> further involved in this discussion), why do you think
>>>
>>>   text/lp
>>> is needed and not
>>>   text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"; format=lp"
>>> ?
>>
>> Did not think of that, that's better IMO.  Apache can do this
>> (the link I gave in a previous email is now returning
>> "text/plain; format=lp; charset=us-ascii").
>>
>> But this creates practical issues.  My browser is not capable
>> of assigning a specific helper to "text/plain; format=lp", say
>> /usr/bin/qrfcview (i.e. different from "text/plain;
>> format=fixed" which in my case would be assigned to
>> /usr/bin/gvim).  An Android app would have the same issue as I
>> guess many other platforms.
> 
> This (IMO, deficient) issue with browsers refusing to
> differentiate / dispatch on parameters is the traditional issue
> with such parameters.  The choice then becomes one between "fix
> the <obscenity> browsers" and "propagate media subtypes when
> parameters would do".  I obviously have a preference, but it may
> not be practical/realistic.
> 
>>  It is the display application
>> that will have to use this parameter to select the display
>> mode, so instead of having an additional program per platform
>> that displays the text/lp type, we will need to modify all
>> applications that can render text/plain so they can correctly
>> interpret the format=lp parameter.
> 
> Yep, although that modification would serve us well in lots of
> other ways, IMO. 
> 
>>> (please read RFC 3676 before answering -- it is not clear to
>>> me that
>>>
>>>    format="fixed" 
>>>
>>> would not do as well, possibly supplemented by an additional
>>> "line length" parameter.
>>
>> What would be missing is an indication that only a fixed font
>> must be used.
> 
> But RFC 3636 says (Section 3) "Text/Plain is usually displayed
> as preformatted text, often in a fixed font.".  That is clearly
> a lot short of a requirement but, if one were going to use a
> "line length" parameter, one could specify that it implies a
> fixed-width font or display system (or name it something that
> would make that more clear).

That would work too.  I added a third URL that returns
text/plain;format=fixed;line-length=72

http://ietf.implementers.org/fixed/rfc5928.txt

> 
> I'm willing to write up either an extension/update to RFC3676 or
> a new subtype if there is enough expression of interest (not
> just the two of us) to indicate that such a proposal would be
> likely to go somewhere.
> 
>    john

- -- 
Marc Petit-Huguenin
Personal email: marc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Professional email: petithug@xxxxxxx
Blog: http://blog.marc.petit-huguenin.org
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