RSS

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Introduction

RSS, the acronym of really simple syndication (or in more popular words news feeds), is a standardized XML file in which websites insert structured information and is generally used to store some news. News feeds can be read by web-based or software-based news readers (also called aggregators).

Educational usage

• Check the status of student's work in the different plateforms like Wiki, Blog or Portal
• Check the news on a lot websites

Links

• WikiPedia
• RSS Tutorial
• RSS: A Quick Start Guide for Educators
• RSS: A learning Technology
• All about RSS
• What is RSS/XML/Atom/Syndication?
• What is RSS?

Similar formats

Atom is another news feeds standard. The XML syntax differs from RSS but the usages principle are the same.

Examples

Examples taken from wikipedia

RSS 1.0

Based on rdf:

<?xml version="1.0"?>

<rdf:RDF 
 xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
 xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/">

 <channel rdf:about="http://www.xml.com/xml/news.rss">
   <title>XML.com</title>
   <link>http://xml.com/pub</link>
   <description>
     XML.com features a rich mix of information and services 
     for the XML community.
   </description>
   <image rdf:resource="http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif" />
   <items>
     <rdf:Seq>
       <rdf:li resource="http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html" />
       <rdf:li resource="http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/rdfdb/index.html" />
     </rdf:Seq>
   </items>
   <textinput rdf:resource="http://search.xml.com" />
 </channel>

 <image rdf:about="http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif">
   <title>XML.com</title>
   <link>http://www.xml.com</link>
   <url>http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif</url>
 </image>

 <item rdf:about="http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html">
   <title>Processing Inclusions with XSLT</title>
   <link>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html</link>
   <description>
    Processing document inclusions with general XML tools can be 
    problematic. This article proposes a way of preserving inclusion 
    information through SAX-based processing.
   </description>
 </item>

 <item rdf:about="http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/rdfdb/index.html">
   <title>Putting RDF to Work</title>
   <link>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/rdfdb/index.html</link>
   <description>
    Tool and API support for the Resource Description Framework 
    is slowly coming of age. Edd Dumbill takes a look at RDFDB, 
    one of the most exciting new RDF toolkits.
   </description>
 </item>

 <textinput rdf:about="http://search.xml.com">
   <title>Search XML.com</title>
   <description>Search XML.com's XML collection</description>
   <name>s</name>
   <link>http://search.xml.com</link>
 </textinput>
</rdf:RDF>

RSS 2.0

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<rss version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Liftoff News</title>
    <link>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/</link>
    <description>Liftoff to Space Exploration.</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <pubDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2003 04:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
    
    <lastBuildDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2003 09:41:01 GMT</lastBuildDate>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <generator>Weblog Editor 2.0</generator>
    <managingEditor>editor@example.com</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>webmaster@example.com</webMaster>
    
    <item>
      <title>Star City</title>
      <link>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-starcity.asp</link>
      <description>How do Americans get ready to work with Russians aboard the
        International Space Station? They take a crash course in culture, language
        and protocol at Russia's Star City.</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2003 09:39:21 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/06/03.html#item573</guid>
    </item>
    
    <item>
      <title>Space Exploration</title>
      <link>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/</link>
      <description>Sky watchers in Europe, Asia, and parts of Alaska and Canada
        will experience a partial eclipse of the Sun on Saturday, May 31st.</description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2003 11:06:42 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/30.html#item572</guid>
    </item>
    
    <item>
      <title>The Engine That Does More</title>
      <link>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-VASIMR.asp</link>
      <description>Before man travels to Mars, NASA hopes to design new engines
        that will let us fly through the Solar System more quickly.  The proposed
        VASIMR engine would do that.</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2003 08:37:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/27.html#item571</guid>
    </item>
    
    <item>
      <title>Astronauts' Dirty Laundry</title>
      <link>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-laundry.asp</link>
      <description>Compared to earlier spacecraft, the International Space
        Station has many luxuries, but laundry facilities are not one of them.
        Instead, astronauts have other options.</description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 20 May 2003 08:56:02 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/20.html#item570</guid>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Atom 1.0

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">

 <title>Example Feed</title>
 <subtitle>Insert witty or insightful remark here</subtitle>
 <link href="http://example.org/"/>
 <updated>2003-12-13T18:30:02Z</updated>
 <author>
   <name>John Doe</name>
   <email>johndoe@example.com</email>
 </author>
 <id>urn:uuid:60a76c80-d399-11d9-b91C-0003939e0af6</id>

 <entry>
   <title>Atom-Powered Robots Run Amok</title>
   <link href="http://example.org/2003/12/13/atom03"/>
   <id>urn:uuid:1225c695-cfb8-4ebb-aaaa-80da344efa6a</id>
   <updated>2003-12-13T18:30:02Z</updated>
   <summary>Some text.</summary>
 </entry>

</feed>

Images

For all news feed standards, there is a unique official image: