[ACCEPTED]-When serving JavaScript files, is it better to use the application/javascript or application/x-javascript-content-type
According to the IETF's ECMAScript Media Types Updates as of 22 February 1 2021, the RFC-4329 is obsolete.
Therefore:
text/javascriptis a recommended standard (both by IETF and by MDN)application/x-javascriptwas experimental while deciding to move to…application/javascriptis obsolete
In most situations, the mime type the server 3 sends makes no practical difference. I 2 would go with application/javascript, which is also recommended 1 by an RFC.
Here's the 2020 answer to this question.
text/javascript is 16 the correct JavaScript MIME type per the HTML Standard, which 15 states:
Servers should use
text/javascriptfor JavaScript 14 resources. Servers should not use other 13 JavaScript MIME types for JavaScript resources, and 12 must not use non-JavaScript MIME types.
And 11 also:
[…] the MIME type used to refer to JavaScript 10 in this specification is
text/javascript, since that is 9 the most commonly used type, despite it 8 being an officially obsoleted type according 7 to RFC 4329.
Work is underway to reflect 6 this reality in an RFC at the IETF level: https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/draft-ietf-dispatch-javascript-mjs/
Any 5 claim that "text/javascript is the obsolete one" is 4 saying so based on RFC 4329, which both 3 the HTML Standard and the abovementioned 2 IETF draft (i.e. an upcoming RFC) are explicitly 1 correcting.
If you choose to use application/javascript 4 for js in your pages, IE7 and IE8 will not 3 run your script! Blame Microsoft all you 2 want, but if you want most people to run 1 your pages use text/javascript.
It used to be language="javacript". Then it changed to type="text/javascript". Now 13 it is type="application/javacript". Ok this is getting dumb. Some of 12 the older browsers don't recognize the new 11 application/javascript, but still recognize the older text/javascript. I plan 10 to continue using this, or else I'll waste 9 hours of my time trying to change EVERY 8 instance of text/javascript into application/javascript.
Now some day the opposite 7 might be true. Some day the newest browsers 6 might reject the old technique in order 5 to be strictly standard's compliant.
But 4 until people viewing my website start complaining 3 that "ever since upgrading my browser, about 2 50% of your website disappeared", I have 1 no motive to change the code in my website.
It has been "text/javascript" but 3 this is obsolete (see the IANA List) and now it should 2 be "application/javascript" (see 1 another IANA List).
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