XML

Simple Web Syndication with RSS 2.0

RSS was originally created in 1999 by Netscape as a channel description framework for their My Netscape Network. MNN was a portal system that allowed end users to selectively view new content from their choice of content providers. RSS was created as a means of gathering that content. Since its creation, RSS has been updated and expanded to handle a much wider range of content with a far broader range of uses.

Author Info:

By: Nilpo/Developer Shed Staff Writer

Poor Best

Rating:

/ 12

January 24, 2007

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Save your feed with either the rss or xml extension. The rss extension is used to indicate rss feeds, and the xml extension can be used since RSS 2.0 is xml based. Either one can be used interchangeably. If your site also contains older RSS feeds, I suggest using the rss extension to provide a sense of continuity.

Here’s my final RSS feed named feed.xml:

<?xml version="1.0" ?>

<title>Popular Articles by Nilpo</title>

<description>Popular articles by Nilpo published by Developer
Shed.</description>

<managingEditor>contacteditor@developershed.com</managingEditor>

<docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>

<item>

<title>A New Toolbar Can Boost Your Web Site Traffic
Dramatically</title>

<description>Dev Articles - Embedded Tools - 1/10/07</description>

<comments>http://www.devarticles.com/showblog/32759/A-New-Toolbar-Can-
Boost-Your-Web-Site-Traffic-Dramatically</comments>

<guid>http://www.devarticles.com/c/a/Embedded-Tools/A-New-Toolbar-Can-
Boost-Your-Web-Site-Traffic-Dramatically</guid>

</item>

<item>

<title>SteelSound 3H Gaming Headset Review</title>

<description>Dev Hardware - Peripherals - 1/10/07</description>

<comments>http://www.devhardware.com/showblog/32760/SteelSound-3H-
Gaming-Headset-Review</comments>

<guid>http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Peripherals/SteelSound-3H-Gaming-
Headset-Review</guid>

</item>

</channel>

</rss>

Any time that you need to use special characters in your channel elements, they should be html encoded. You’ll notice my use of the © html entity in my channel’s copyright element.

Once your have your RSS feed built, stop by feedvalidator.org to make sure that the syntax is valid. Once it is you can publish it to your website. Just provide a URL to the location of your rss or xml file for users to add to their news readers. You can also submit the URL to many listing services.

That’s all there is to it. You now have a live RSS feed. You can add additional items any time that new content becomes available on your site. Many CMS programs provide RSS creation for you. There are also a number of third party tools that can be used to generate the channel file for you.

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer Shed, Inc. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.