rss and xml
DESCRIPTION
RSS and XML. Seoul Computer Club 10 December 2005 Stephen D. Carroll [email protected]. Terms. XML – e x tensible m arkup l anguage RSS – r eally s imple s yndication Syndication – making part of a website available via RSS - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Terms
XML – extensible markup language RSS – really simple syndication Syndication – making part of a website
available via RSS Aggregator – a program that collects (and
displays) syndicated RSS feeds.
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XML
Markup language, like HTML Structured format Data describes itself
XML<item>
<name>Widget</name>
<quantity>200</quantity>
<price>1.99</price>
</item>
HTML<b>
<u>Hello</u>
<i>World</i>
<blink>Annoying!</blink>
</b>
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RSS
A defined XML Standard for sharing news. RSS file is stored or created on server. File Header contains static information
about the source of the information. File Body contains dynamic information, all
surrounded by matching start and end tags.
Versions: Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91) RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9 and 1.0) Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
FYI
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RSSH
eade
rB
ody
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Syndication
Your favorite newspaper contains: AP/Reuters news Comics Sports news Weather forecast Horoscope
You already get most of your news from a variety of sources, compiled (aggregated) into one product (by the newspaper editor).
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Personal Syndication, I
I want: Sports News (Yankees, Giants) Local News (Northern NJ, NYC) National News (Defense, politics, economy) International News (SE/NE Asia) Weather Forecast (Seoul) Microsoft News (Windows/Exchange) Financial News (NASDAQ quotes, SEC info) Misc. stuff (my interests and hobbies)
Who will publish “my” newspaper?
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Personal Syndication, II
I used to visit more than 25 sites to see “what’s new” – some are updated daily. New products New press releases New tech manuals New patches New news
It takes hours to visit all these sites – subscribing to 100 RSS feeds delivers all the updated content to my desktop.
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RSS Aggregator
A program that collects (and displays) RSS feeds.
Three major types: Web based Plugins
Browser-based Outlook
Standalone programs
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Aggregator: Web based
RSS feeds are collected and displayed when you browse to their website:
BlogLines (demonstration) Google Reader (demonstration) NewsGator Online My Yahoo!
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Aggregator: Plugins
You install a program on your computer that collects RSS feeds and displays them in your browser: Pluck (IE/FF) Onfolio (IE/FF) Optimal Access (IE) FireFox (screenshot) Opera (screenshot) Safari (screenshot)
Natively support RSS
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Aggregator: Plugins
You install a program on your computer that collects RSS feeds – and displays them in Outlook:
NewsGator IntraVnews
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Aggregators: Standalone
You install a program on your computer that collects and displays RSS feeds:
RSS Bandit Feed Demon Sharp Reader Radio Userland NetNewsWire (Mac)
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How does it work?
Content is created… Weather report, stock quote, news item, other
Content is syndicated… …by the content provider.
Syndicated content is compiled… …by your aggregator.
You read the content.
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What kind of content?
Somewhere, somehow, some data has been created, changed, or republished. Tuesday’s forecast is for snow.
Tuesday’s forecast is for rain. One share of Google costs $456.78 President Bush did (this) today. Microsoft published a Knowledge Base article. My company filed quarterly earnings report
with the SEC.
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Visit your favorite websites See any of these logos?
Websites displaying these logos have an RSS feed available.
Clicking on them will subscribe you to their content.
Where do I find RSS feeds?
FireFox Live Bookmark
Raw XML/RSS file links
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Demonstration, Bloglines.com
Free. Setting up account is simple. Adding a subscription is painless.
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Demonstration, Bloglines, II
Once subscribed, articles are available:
…to add subscriptions.
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Demonstration, Google
Free, but accounts are limited.reader.google.com
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Firefox Live Bookmarks
Built into FF browser
Click the icon to subscribe. A new Bookmarks folder is created to display the feed.
older ver.1.5+
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Opera
Opera reads RSS feeds natively:
To subscribe to newsfeeds, go to a page which offers newsfeeds and click the "RSS" button inside the URL field on Opera's address bar. Once you have subscribed to a feed, a "Feeds" menu will appear in the menu bar. You can also right-click in the mail panel to subscribe to feeds if you have created a mail account.
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Safari (Mac)
Safari also reads RSS feeds:
• Click the RSS icon and Safari automatically displays the feed.
• Bookmark the RSS feed so you can return to it later.
• Safari lets you aggregate feeds easily. Create a folder of your frequently viewed RSS feeds from a single window, then browse everything in one cleanly formatted page.
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OPML
Outline Processor Markup Language Lists of RSS feeds. Uses:
Exchanging RSS lists between aggregators. Backing up your RSS subscription list. Sharing your RSS subscription list.
Example: http://www.rokus.net/my.opml
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OPML contents
XML file (self-describing data):
Title: Site’s name Description: Created by author xmlUrl: RSS Feed address htmlUrl: Site’s web address
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Summary
XML is a file format: self-describing data. RSS is a specific (defined) type of XML.
Used most commonly for news syndication.
Syndication is publishing RSS feeds. Aggregation is receiving RSS feeds. 3 types of aggregators display RSS feeds.
How you read your news is up to you.
OPML files contain lists of RSS feeds.
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Your Homework
Set up an account at bloglines.com Add the following feeds (copy/paste):
http://xml.weather.yahoo.com/forecastrss?p=KSXX0037&u=f http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/usatoday-NewsTopStories http://dilbertblog.typepad.com/the_dilbert_blog/index.rdf http://www.rokus.net/backend.php
(Much easier once this brief is posted to SeoulCC.org)
Visit http://www.engadget.com Scroll down and click here
Go to bloglines.com and start reading!
