PDF in the Browser

Abstract

Every Web Browser can handle several file formats. Most browsers designed for Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) can display HTML, text, GIF, and JPEG files in the program window. File formats which the browser does not “understand” itself can be coped with if the user configures an external program. The browser starts these programs as required and feeds them the data from the server. The browser and the server negotiate the type of data using the MIME protocol. MIME stands for “Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions” and is a classification scheme for a multitude of file formats. When the server sends a particular MIME classification along with a requested file, the browser can do one of several things:

• Use its own program code to process the data and display the file in its program window.

• Start an external programs configured for that MIME type which processes the data and display the result.

• If a browser plugin is registered for that MIME type, the plugin is used to process the data.

• If the browser does not recognize the MIME type at all, the user can save the file to disk for later use.