RFC 4839 INFORMATIONAL EBOOKS · MEDIA TYPES · STANDARDS

Media Type Registrations for the Open eBook Publication Structure (OEBPS) Package File (OPF)

Registration of application/oebps-package+xml for OEBPS package files.

On rfc-editor.org ↗
PUBLISHED
April 2007
AUTHORS
G. Conboy, J. Rivlin, J. Ferraiolo
STREAM
IETF
MEDIA TYPE
application/oebps-package+xml
FILE EXTENSION
.opf
ENCODING
UTF-8 or UTF-16 XML
DOI
10.17487/RFC4839

RFC text

Contents
Original text · RFC Editor View on rfc-editor.org ↗
Network Working Group                                          G. Conboy
Request for Comments: 4839                                     J. Rivlin
Category: Informational                         eBook Technologies, Inc.
                                                            J. Ferraiolo
                                                                     IBM
                                                              April 2007


                     Media Type Registrations for
    the Open eBook Publication Structure (OEBPS) Package File (OPF)

Status of This Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
   memo is unlimited.

Copyright Notice

   Copyright (C) The IETF Trust (2007).

Abstract

   This document serves to register a media type for the Open eBook
   Publication Structure (OEBPS) Package Files.

1.  Introduction

   The present document registers a media type for the Open eBook
   Publication Structure (OEBPS) Package File (OPF).  The OPF file is an
   XML file that describes an OEBPS Publication [OEBPS].  It identifies
   all other files in the publication and provides descriptive
   information about them.  OPF and its related standards are maintained
   and defined by the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF).

   The media type defined here is needed to correctly identify OPF files
   when they are edited on disk, referenced in OEBPS Container files, or
   used in other places where media types are used.

2.  Security Considerations

   The OPF files contain well-formed XML conforming to the XML 1.0
   specification.

   Clearly, it is possible to author malicious files which, for example,
   contain malformed data.  Most XML parsers protect themselves from
   such attacks by rigorously enforcing conformance.

   All processors that read OPF files should rigorously check the size
   and validity of data retrieved.

   There is no current provision in the OEBPS Package File standard for
   encryption, signing, or authentication within the file format.

3.  IANA Considerations

   IANA has registered the media type application/oebps-package+xml as
   specified in Section 3.1.  The registration uses the template present
   in [RFC4288].

3.1.  Media Type for Downloadable Sounds

   Type name:                         application

   Subtype name:                      oebps-package+xml

   Required parameters:               none

   Optional parameters:               none

   Encoding considerations:           OPF files are UTF-8 or UTF-16
                                      encoded XML

   Security considerations:           none


   Interoperability considerations:   none

   Published specification:           Specification is published by the
                                      International Digital Publishing
                                      Forum and can be found at
                                      http://www.idpf.org/oebps/
                                      oebps1.2/download/oeb12-xhtml.htm

   Applications which use this media type:
                                      1) eBook Technologies, Inc.
                                         eBook reading system.
                                      2) Microsoft Reader
                                      3) OSoft reader
                                      4) Content Reserve Publishing
                                         System
                                      5) IDPF Container WG
                                      6) PC Reader.com
                                      7) MobiPocket reader

   Additional information:

      Magic number(s):                none

      File extension(s):              .opf

      Macintosh file type code(s):    TEXT

   Person & email address to contact for further information:
                                      Nick Bogaty (nbogaty@idpf.org)

   Intended usage:                    COMMON

   Restrictions on usage:             None

   Author:                            International Digital Publishing
                                      Forum (www.idpf.org)

   Change controller:                 International Digital Publishing
                                      Forum (www.idpf.org)

4.  Normative References

   [OEBPS]   "Open eBook Publication Structure 1.2", International
             Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), New York, NY USA, 2002.

   [RFC4288] Freed, N. and J. Klensin, "Media Type Specifications and
             Registration Procedures", BCP 13, RFC 4288, December 2005.

Authors' Addresses

   Garth Conboy
   eBook Technologies, Inc.
   7745 Herschel Avenue
   La Jolla, CA 92037

   Phone: (858) 551-4950
   EMail: gc@ebooktechnologies.com


   John Rivlin
   eBook Technologies, Inc.
   7745 Herschel Avenue
   La Jolla, CA 92037

   Phone: (650) 255-3389
   EMail: john@ebooktechnologies.com


   Jon Ferraiolo
   IBM
   Menlo Park, CA

   Phone: (650) 926-5865
   EMail: jferrai@us.ibm.com

Full Copyright Statement

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Acknowledgement

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ISO Plain Language

On this page
PROBLEMSoftware needs a media type to identify OEBPS Package Files when they are edited, referenced, or transferred.
MECHANISMThe RFC registers application/oebps-package+xml for the XML file that describes an OEBPS publication and identifies its other files.
MEDIA TYPE REGISTEREDThe registration specifies UTF-8 or UTF-16 XML encoding and the .opf file extension.

§1The OEBPS Package File

An Open eBook Publication Structure package file, or OPF file, is an XML file describing an OEBPS publication. It identifies the other files in the publication and provides descriptive information about them.

The RFC says a media type is needed to identify OPF files when edited on disk, referenced by OEBPS Container files, or used where media types are applied.

The OPF file describes the other parts of an OEBPS publication. Software needs a label that identifies this XML file.

§3The Media Type Registration

IANA registered the media type application/oebps-package+xml. It has no required or optional parameters, and its encoding is UTF-8 or UTF-16 XML.

The registration lists .opf as the file extension and describes intended usage as COMMON. The OEBPS specification is maintained by the International Digital Publishing Forum.

The registered media type is application/oebps-package+xml, and .opf is its file extension. The file uses UTF-8 or UTF-16 XML.

§2Processing OPF Files

The RFC notes that OPF files are well-formed XML but may be authored with malformed or malicious data. It advises processors to check the size and validity of retrieved data.

The OEBPS Package File format has no provision for encryption, signing, or authentication within the file itself.

Applications should check the data they read from OPF files. The format itself does not provide encryption, signing, or authentication.

§4References

[OEBPS]"Open eBook Publication Structure 1.2", International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), New York, NY USA, 2002.
[RFC4288]RFC 4288Freed, N. and J. Klensin, "Media Type Specifications and Registration Procedures", BCP 13, RFC 4288, December 2005.December 2005