In article , Wolf K
wrote:

AIUI, each data packet includes an ID to ensure that the intended
recipient computer can snag it from the data stream, and assemble the
packets in correct order, including the MIME header at the start of the
data. If you want to quibble about whether the ID data is inside the
packet or not, go ahead, quibble. Anything to keep you happy.

the mime headers are *not* part of the actual data. they *describe* the
data that is sent.

Dear, dear, tsk, tsk, more misreading. But then I knew you would.

there's no misreading whatsoever.

the mime headers describe the data that follows. that's why they're
called headers.

I never disputed that. Which is why I didn't understand your comment
about it.

I suspect you weren't paying attention that I was talking about about
"data packets", not data. They go by many other names, so maybe that
term confused you. Just in case you still don't understand what I'm
referring to: the MIME header is transmitted in data packets, just like
the data it it describes. Every data packet carries the necessary
metadata with it, else it could not be combined with other data packets
into the transmitted file at the receiving end.

that's at the network level, not the application level, and not
relevant to the discussion about file system metadata.

My point was that this
principle should be implemented all the way up. Just like turtles, only
in the other direction.

no reason to do that.