What MIME is
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. An industry-standard code that defines how an e-mail message is sent in code and then decoded when received at its destination. It is actually a protocol for e-mail that enables the transmission of non-text data, such as graphics, audio, video, and other binary types of files. These files are encoded into text that would look like gobbledygook to us.
An e-mail program, such as Eudora, is MIME-compliant if it can send and receive files using the MIME standard. The MIME standard is universally used by Internet servers to identify the files that are sent to clients. Since the files are identified by the servers, users can accommodate new file formats by adding them to their browser's list of MIME-types and programs for handling each type. S/MIME, the secure version of the standard, utilizes an encryption system to protect e-mail, even when it is sent between different e-mail clients. S/MIME messages include the message itself and the encryption information (such as a digital certificate).
The meaning of Program
Another term for software, it is basically a list of instructions (written in a programming language) that tells a computer how to execute certain functions and perform tasks in a specific way.
There are many kinds of programs, including:
-antivirus, which detect and remove computer viruses
-application, which are tools that perform specific kinds of tasks (such as word processing)
-authoring, to help create Web sites
-calendar, which contain a calendar or appointment book
-child, which are actually subprograms loaded into memory and used by the main program
-computer program components (CPC), which are routines or modules within a larger program
-conversion, which change a file from one format to another
-demo, which exhibit a sample of a program for free or for a low price
-drawing, used for drawing, illustrating, and editing graphics
-event-driven, which wait for events to occur and then respond to them
-file recovery, which restore files that have been damaged or unintentionally deleted,
-file transfer programs (FTP), which enable a user to copy a file from one computer to another
-formatingt, which erase a disk and prepare it for use
-system, such as the operating system
-utility, which maintain the computer system