Hello,

On Mac OS X and iOS, file types are defined by a concept known as UTIs (uniform type identifiers).  Basically, they are a collection of metadata, as key-value pairs, that describe the file format.

We think it would be valuable for the community to agree upon such a definition for the .snirf format.

This describes the motivation of UTIs over say just file extensions:
<http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/FileManagement/Conceptual/understanding_utis/understand_utis_intro/understand_utis_intro.html>

and this describes the metadata that can be provided:
<http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/FileManagement/Conceptual/understanding_utis/understand_utis_declare/understand_utis_declare.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40001319-CH204-SW1>

We need to define some fields:

UTTypeDescription  (ex: SNIRF)
UTTypeIdentifier     (ex: com.some.identifier)
UTTypeReferenceURL (ex: http://www.some.stable.URL.over.time.com)
UTTypeTagSpecification (ex: snirf)

Notes:
- the most important is the choice of UTTypeIdentifier
- will that web URL be stable over time?
- is there a MIME type for this file format?  It could be added in UTTypeTagSpecification if so.

Thanks,
 
Mathieu