Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: It is the content type or MIME type of the web page.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
When a browser requests a web page, the server sends back an HTTP response that includes headers and a body. One important header is Content-Type, which tells the browser how to interpret the body. The value text/html is one of the most common types and indicates a standard HTML document. This question checks whether you know what role text/html plays in HTTP communication.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
The HTTP header Content-Type specifies the MIME type of the response body. The value text/html indicates that the body contains HTML markup and should be rendered as a web page. Therefore, the correct option needs to associate text/html with content type and MIME type, not with encoding, file paths, or library versions. The approach is to match this standard definition with the supplied options.
Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Recall that a typical HTTP response line for content type is Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8.2. In this header, text/html is the MIME type while charset=UTF-8 specifies the character encoding.3. Option A states that text/html is the content type or MIME type, which is correct.4. Option B incorrectly claims that text/html is the character encoding, but encodings are values like UTF-8 or ISO-8859-1.5. Option C treats text/html as a file path, which does not match server filesystem notation.6. Option D mentions a JavaScript library version, which is unrelated to HTTP content type.7. Therefore, Option A is the correct answer.
Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify this by using browser developer tools to inspect network responses. For any normal HTML page, the response headers will contain a line specifying Content-Type: text/html. Documentation on HTTP and MIME types lists text/html as the canonical type for HTML documents. This confirms that text/html is indeed the content type or MIME type that instructs the browser how to interpret the response body.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option B is wrong because character encodings are separate parameters, not the MIME type itself.Option C is wrong because file paths are handled at the server and use formats like /index.html or C: folders, not MIME type strings.Option D is wrong because JavaScript library versions are defined by script source URLs or package metadata, not by the content type header.
Common Pitfalls:
Developers sometimes forget to set the correct content type, which can cause browsers to misinterpret data, especially for JSON or XML responses. Another pitfall is confusing character encoding with MIME type, leading to issues with special characters. Understanding that text/html is the MIME type clarifies how browsers decide which rendering engine to use and how to handle the response body.
Final Answer:
It is the content type or MIME type of the web page.
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