RSS - Simple demo of a RSS page (Really Simple Syndication)

RSS

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an XML (Extensible Markup Language) based document used to publish frequently updated digital content, such as blogs, news feeds or podcasts.

Users subscribe to the feed, the RSS Document, with feed readers or aggregators. Browsers like Safari, and Internet Explorer contain one. My Yahoo! and Google portals are now incorporating RSS reading functions. The readers piriodicly check to see if the feed has been updated, delevering to the users the most current information about the feeds they subscribed to. RSS is a reletivly simple to program and it allows users to stay current on information about the subjects or sites that interest them. For the host, it helps keep the site and its information visible to the subscribers without requireing them to visiting the front page. A well designed RSS feed can help drive visitors to the site.

There is no standard naming conventions for an RSS document. The only thing that must be done is give your file the extension .xml. Trends are naming the file rss.xml, or YourSiteName.xml and placing it in the root of your web browser.

Once you complete the RSS document check if it is built correctly at feedvalidator.org.

This is a simple RSS document.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <rss version="2.0"> <channel> <title>inherentlyhood.com RSS feed</title> <link>http://www.inherentlyhood.com</link> <description> inherentlyhood.com is not your typical resource. It is a storeroom of information used by designers. The information is open for the public to use and learn from but it is also a place where the contributing designers mainly (Jamie Hood) reference their past successes and failures. </description> <language> en-us </language> <ttl> 60 </ttl> <item> <title> CSS Simple Role Over Menu </title> <description> This tutorial aids in the creation of a simple menu role over effect using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). </description> <link> http://www.inherentlyhood.com/articals/css_simple_roll_over_menu/CSS_menu_role_over.html </link> <guid> http://www.inherentlyhood.com/articals/css_simple_roll_over_menu/CSS_menu_role_over.html </guid> <pubDate> Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:00:00 GMT </pubDate> </item> <item> <title> RSS - Feed </title> <description> Simple demonstration of the RSS feed. </description> <link> http://www.inherentlyhood.com/articals/rss/RSS.html </link> <guid> http://www.inherentlyhood.com/articals/rss/RSS.html </guid> <pubDate> Mon, 26 Mar 2007 13:00:00 GMT </pubDate> </item> </channel> </rss>

Required channel elements *
Here's a list of the required channel elements, each with a brief description, an some examples.

Element	Description	Example
title	The name of the channel. It's how people refer to your service. If you have an HTML website that contains the same information as your RSS file, the title of your channel should be the same as the title of your website.	GoUpstate.com News Headlines
link	The URL to the HTML website corresponding to the channel.	http://www.goupstate.com/
description	Phrase or sentence describing the channel.	The latest news from GoUpstate.com, a Spartanburg Herald-Journal Web site.

Optional channel elements
Here's a list of optional channel elements.

Element	Description	Example
language	The language the channel is written in. This allows aggregators to group all Italian language sites, for example, on a single page.	en-us
copyright	Copyright notice for content in the channel.	Copyright 2002, Spartanburg Herald-Journal
managingEditor	Email address for person responsible for editorial content.	geo@herald.com (George Matesky)
webMaster	Email address for person responsible for technical issues relating to channel.	betty@herald.com (Betty Guernsey)
pubDate	The publication date for the content in the channel. For example, the New York Times publishes on a daily basis, the publication date flips once every 24 hours. That's when the pubDate of the channel changes.	Sat, 07 Sep 2002 00:00:01 GMT
lastBuildDate	The last time the content of the channel changed.	Sat, 07 Sep 2002 09:42:31 GMT
category	Specify one or more categories that the channel belongs to. Follows the same rules as the <item>-level category element.	<category>Newspapers</category>
generator	A string indicating the program used to generate the channel.	MightyInHouse Content System v2.3
docs	A URL that points to the documentation for the format used in the RSS file. It's probably a pointer to this page. It's for people who might stumble across an RSS file on a Web server 25 years from now and wonder what it is.	http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification
cloud	Allows processes to register with a cloud to be notified of updates to the channel, implementing a lightweight publish-subscribe protocol for RSS feeds.	<cloud domain="rpc.sys.com" port="80" path="/RPC2" registerProcedure="pingMe" protocol="soap"/>
ttl	ttl stands for time to live. It's a number of minutes that indicates how long a channel can be cached before refreshing from the source.	<ttl>60</ttl>
image	Specifies a GIF, JPEG or PNG image that can be displayed with the channel.
rating	The PICS rating for the channel.
textInput	Specifies a text input box that can be displayed with the channel.
skipHours	A hint for aggregators telling them which hours they can skip.
skipDays	A hint for aggregators telling them which days they can skip.

References:
http://www.rssboard.org

User, n. The word computer professionals use when they mean "idiot."

Dave Barry

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