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RSS - Could It Be for You?
Copyright © Richard Hopkins - All Rights Reserved
http://rjsinformation.com
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RSS isn't complicated. The acronym may scare some people,
but it doesn't mean you'll have to be Einstein's cousin, to
learn how to use it.
Depending on who you ask and what version of RSS you're
inquiring about, it might be called Really Simple
Syndication, Rich Site Summary, RDF Site Summary, or some
variation on one of those mentioned. What it's called
doesn't really make any difference.
There's also another thing that you don't need to care
about, the versions:
0.90 and 0.91 - created by Netscape.
1.0 - by RSS-DEV.
and 0.9x and 2.0 - by UserLand Software.
Nearly all applications that handle RSS feeds have the
capability to read all of the different versions. There's
also a similar format, a bit more complicated, called Atom.
RSS is a text-based format, a type of XML. You should know
about this because RSS files can often be labeled as XML.
RSS version 1.0 is also RDF, which again, is only important
because an RSS file could be labeled as RDF.
RSS files are also called RSS feeds or channels. They simply
contain a list of items. Generally, each item contains the
title, a summary and a link to a URL (webpage). Other
information, the date and creator's name, may also be
included. A common use for RSS files is for news and other
reverse-chronologically ordered websites, like blogs.
A description might contain a complete news article, blog
post or an extract or summary. Each item's link usually
points to the full content but it could point to what the
content itself links to.
RSS - Is Simple Syndication!
When a website has an RSS feed, it's called "syndicated."
There are other syndication formats besides RSS but at this
time, RSS is widely used and supported. RSS files don't
have a common file extension, although they frequently end
in one of .xml, .rss, or .rdf ( other extensions could be
used also. )
The term "scraping" refers to creating an RSS feed for a
website that doesn't provide one itself ( scraping the text
off of the page ). Actually, scraped feeds aren't created by
the same people who created the content within the feed.
Scraped RSS feeds may stop working if the page changes the
layout.
What is Atom?
Atom is a format similar to RSS. It was created by people
who felt that RSS could be improved upon. Some people
disagreed with some of the political issues regarding RSS.
Naturally, there are critics who can get out of hand
arguing, as to which format is better. RSS appears to be
more popular right now and it's widely used. Although it's
considered relatively new, it's rushed through the gate
with flying colors. Could RSS be for you? Maybe!
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About The Author:
Richard Hopkins is the owner and webmaster of RJ's
Information.com, a site dedicated to helping the netpreneur
make an informed choice when creating an online presence.
To receive free ebooks and also obtain access to his
subscribers' only web page. Just visit his website at
http://rjsinformation.com and sign up for the biweekly
I-Spy Newsletter.
This article may be reprinted freely as long as the
reference box remains intact.
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