WebRef   Sitemap · Experts · Tools · Services · Newsletters · About

Creating RSS files for your Web site

Programmer / Writer Aquent US-WA-Redmond Post A Job | Post A Resume

Developer News Cisco Lawsuit: A Test for the GPL? Shifts for Enterprise Linux, Green Networks in '09 Gifts for All in Linux 2.6.28

Recently I have received more and more questions about the Rich Site Summary (RSS) format and its use for Web masters. The short answer is that RSS is a great way for any Web site to advertise their content in an always up-to-date fashion. In order to reap the benefits of RSS, you have to master three easy steps:

1. Create and maintain RSS files for your web site
• Understand RSS channels
• Understand RSS items and images
• Publish from a full-fledged example
• Look forward to the Outlook
2. Register your RSS file with an aggregator
3. Publish relevant RSS content from others on your site

Let's cover the first topic of creating and maintaining an RSS file, while the last two points will be discussed in the next installment of this column.

RSS elements

First we need to delve a bit deeper into the Document Type Definition (DTD) of RSS and explain in more detail than column10 what information is supposed to be going where.

At the top level, a RSS document is a <rss> element, with a mandatory attribute called version. This specifies the version of RSS that the document conforms to. The current mandatory value is "0.91". Subordinate to the <rss> element is a single <channel> element, which contains information about the channel, the so-called meta data, and its contents. In DTD syntax it looks like this:

<!ELEMENT rss (channel)>
<!ATTLIST rss
          version     CDATA #REQUIRED> <!-- must be "0.91"> -->

On to the RSS channels.

Search:

Jupitermedia Corporation has two divisions: Jupiterimages and JupiterOnlineMedia

Jupitermedia Corporate Info

Legal Notices, Licensing, Reprints, Permissions, Privacy Policy.
Advertise | Newsletters | Tech Jobs | Shopping | E-mail Offers

Solutions

Whitepapers and eBooks

Avaya Article: Developing Speech Grammars that Rock, Part 2: Grammar Tuning Microsoft Partner Portal: Hyper-V Vaults Microsoft into Virtualization Race Small Business Solution Exchange: The Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Enterprise Emails Avaya Article: JSR 289: SIP Servlet 1.1 Provides Significant Benefits for SIP Application Developers

Microsoft Article: Build and Run Virtual Machines with Hyper-V Server 2008 Internet.com eBook: Real Life Rails Internet.com eBook: Best Practices for Developing a Web Site MORE WHITEPAPERS, EBOOKS, AND ARTICLES

Webcasts

HP Webinar: Virtualization for Business Critical SAP on SQL Server Microsoft Partner Portal Video: Microsoft Gold Certified Partners Build Successful Practices

Rackspace Hosting Center: Customer Videos MORE WEBCASTS, PODCASTS, AND VIDEOS

Downloads and eKits

IdeaBlade Download: DevForce EF--Developing for LINQ and the Entity Framework Microsoft Download: Silverlight 2 SDK 30-Day Trial: SPAMfighter Exchange Module Iron Speed Designer Application Generator

Microsoft Download: Silverlight 2 Developer Runtime (Windows) IdeaBlade Download: .NET Programming with DevForce Classic MORE DOWNLOADS, EKITS, AND FREE TRIALS

Tutorials and Demos

Online Demo: IBM Cognos 8 Business Intelligence Reporting

MORE TUTORIALS, DEMOS AND STEP-BY-STEP GUIDES

The latest from WebReference.com Browse > Site Contents - - - - - Experts * 3D Animation * Design * DHTML * Graphics * HTML * JavaScript * Perl * XML - - - - - Web Resources * Authoring * Design * Internet * Multimedia * Programming * Promotion - - - - - Services * Interviews * Newsletters * Reviews * Search * Tools Overview of Popular JavaScript Frameworks - ASP.NET AJAX · An Introduction to 3D · Email Marketing Terms to Know Sitemap · Experts · Tools · Services · Email a Colleague · Contact FREE Newsletters >   The latest from internet.com Mastering SSH: Connecting, Executing Remote Commands and Using Authorized Keys · Connecticut Town Lays Groundwork for Merged School, Municipal VoIP Network · Wi-Fi for your Car, Truck, or MPV

Produced by Michael Claßen
All Rights Reserved. Legal Notices.

URL: http://www.webreference.com/xml/column13/index.html
Created: Jun 18, 2000
Revised: Jun 18, 2000