Header (computing)

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In information technology, header is supplemental data placed at the beginning of a block of data being stored or transmitted. In data transmission, the data following the header is sometimes called the payload or body .

Contents

It is vital that header composition follows a clear and unambiguous specification or format, to allow for parsing.

Examples

See also

References

  1. P. Resnick, ed. (October 2008). Internet Message Format. Network Working Group. doi: 10.17487/RFC5322 . RFC 5322.Draft Standard. Obsoletes RFC  2822. Updates RFC  4021. Updated by RFC  6854.
  2. B. Leiba (March 2013). Update to Internet Message Format to Allow Group Syntax in the "From:" and "Sender:" Header Fields. Internet Engineering Task Force. doi: 10.17487/RFC6854 . ISSN   2070-1721. RFC 6854.Proposed Standard. Updates RFC  5322.