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==Introduction==
==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 Feed Aggregator|news readers]] (also called aggregators).
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 news and updates. News feeds can be read by web-based or software-based [[News Feed Aggregator|news readers]] (also called aggregators).


==Educational usage==
== Software ==
 
* See [[News Feed Aggregator]] for standalone tools. Nowadays, most people use either a web navigator (E.g. Firefox) or so-called [[webtop]]s (web dashboards)
* Most [[portal]]s including [[Creating websites with online services|online content creation services]] can include News feeds in various formats. In web 2.0 interfaces, you may have to use some kind of Widget that can configure with a few options, including a title, the RSS feed URL, number of items, details, etc.
* All modern web browsers can read RSS feed. In addition, there exist extensions that add extra functionality.
* There are libraries (e.g. PHP) for writing custom RSS server-side aggregators
 
== RSS/Atom Variants ==


*Check the status of student's work in the different plateforms like [[Wiki]], [[Blog]] or [[Portal]]
# RSS 0.90
*Check the news on a lot websites
#* RSS as invented by Netscape, RSS = RDF Site Summary
# RSS 0.91
#* Second version of Netscape, RSS = Rich Site Summary
#* simple syntax and not compatible with RDF
#* this format is still popular
# RSS 0.92
#* like RSS 0.91 but some improvements, like UTF-8 support
# RSS 1.0
#* based on RDF
#* not very popular, since the "[[web 2.0]]" crowd does not seem to understand or like concepts underlying the semantic web.
# RSS 2.0
#* follow-up of RSS 0.91 and 0.92
#* Not RDF compatible (simpler than RSS 1.0)
# [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_%28standard%29 Atom] is another ''news feeds'' standard. The XML syntax differs from RSS 0.9x/2.0 but the principle is the same.


==Links==
== Life Feed example ==


*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_%28file_format%29 WikiPedia]
This wiki has an extension that allows to include RSS feeds.
*[http://www.mnot.net/rss/tutorial/ RSS Tutorial]
*[http://www.weblogg-ed.com/2004/03/30#a1655 RSS: A Quick Start Guide for Educators]
*[http://www.learningcircuits.org/2004/may2004/0405_trends.htm RSS: A learning Technology]
*[http://www.faganfinder.com/search/rss.shtml All about RSS]
*[http://www.mezzoblue.com/archives/2004/05/19/what_is_rssx/ What is RSS/XML/Atom/Syndication?]
*[http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=169476&redir=1 What is RSS?]


==Similar formats==
The following example feed is taken from http://e4innovation.com/ example, i.e. contents from the feed URL = http://e4innovation.com/?feed=rss2


[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_%28standard%29 Atom] is another ''news feeds'' standard. The XML syntax differs from RSS but the usages principle are the same.
'''Short version, 5 items max.''':
----
<rss max=5>http://e4innovation.com/?feed=rss2</rss>
----


[[Category: Educational technologies]]
'''Long version, 3 items only''':
----
<rss max=3 template="Rss-feed">http://e4innovation.com/?feed=rss2</rss>
----


==Examples==
== Code Examples==


Examples taken from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_%28file_format%29#Example wikipedia]
Examples taken from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_%28file_format%29#Example wikipedia]


===RSS 1.0===
===RSS 1.0===
Based on rdf:


'''''<?xml version="1.0"?>'''''
Based on RDF, not popular:
 
<source lang="XML">
<?xml version="1.0"?>
   
   
  <'''rdf:RDF'''
  <rdf:RDF  
   xmlns:rdf="<nowiki>http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#</nowiki>"
   xmlns:rdf="<nowiki>http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#</nowiki>"
   xmlns="<nowiki>http://purl.org/rss/1.0/</nowiki>">
   xmlns="<nowiki>http://purl.org/rss/1.0/</nowiki>">
   
   
   <channel rdf:about="<nowiki>http://www.xml.com/xml/news.rss</nowiki>">
   <channel rdf:about="<nowiki>http://www.xml.com/xml/news.rss</nowiki>">
     <'''title'''>XML.com</'''title'''>
     <title>XML.com</title>
     <'''link'''><nowiki>http://xml.com/pub</nowiki></'''link'''>
     <link><nowiki>http://xml.com/pub</nowiki></link>
     <'''description'''>
     <description>
       XML.com features a rich mix of information and services  
       XML.com features a rich mix of information and services  
       for the XML community.
       for the XML community.
     </'''description'''>
     </description>
     <image rdf:resource="<nowiki>http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif</nowiki>" />
     <image rdf:resource="<nowiki>http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif</nowiki>" />
     <'''items'''>
     <items>
       <rdf:Seq>
       <rdf:Seq>
         <rdf:li resource="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html</nowiki>" />
         <rdf:li resource="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html</nowiki>" />
         <rdf:li resource="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/rdfdb/index.html</nowiki>" />
         <rdf:li resource="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/rdfdb/index.html</nowiki>" />
       </rdf:Seq>
       </rdf:Seq>
     </'''items'''>
     </items>
     <textinput rdf:resource="<nowiki>http://search.xml.com</nowiki>" />
     <textinput rdf:resource="<nowiki>http://search.xml.com</nowiki>" />
   </'''channel'''>
   </channel>
   
   
   <image rdf:about="<nowiki>http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif</nowiki>">
   <image rdf:about="<nowiki>http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif</nowiki>">
     <'''title'''>XML.com</'''title'''>
     <title>XML.com</title>
     <'''link'''><nowiki>http://www.xml.com</nowiki></'''link'''>
     <link><nowiki>http://www.xml.com</nowiki></link>
     <'''url'''><nowiki>http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif</nowiki></'''url'''>
     <url><nowiki>http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif</nowiki></url>
   </'''image'''>
   </image>
   
   
   <item rdf:about="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html</nowiki>">
   <item rdf:about="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html</nowiki>">
     <'''title>Processing Inclusions with XSLT</'''title'''>
     <title>Processing Inclusions with XSLT</title>
     <'''link'''><nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html</nowiki></'''link'''>
     <link><nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html</nowiki></link>
     <'''description'''>
     <description>
     Processing document inclusions with general XML tools can be  
     Processing document inclusions with general XML tools can be  
     problematic. This article proposes a way of preserving inclusion  
     problematic. This article proposes a way of preserving inclusion  
     information through SAX-based processing.
     information through SAX-based processing.
     </'''description'''>
     </description>
   </'''item'''>
   </item>
   
   
   <item rdf:about="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/rdfdb/index.html</nowiki>">
   <item rdf:about="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/rdfdb/index.html</nowiki>">
Line 82: Line 104:
   
   
   <textinput rdf:about="<nowiki>http://search.xml.com</nowiki>">
   <textinput rdf:about="<nowiki>http://search.xml.com</nowiki>">
     <'''title'''>Search XML.com</'''title'''>
     <title>Search XML.com</title>
     <'''description'''>Search XML.com's XML collection</'''description'''>
     <description>Search XML.com's XML collection</description>
     <'''name'''>s</'''name'''>
     <name>s</name>
     <'''link'''><nowiki>http://search.xml.com</nowiki></'''link'''>
     <link><nowiki>http://search.xml.com</nowiki></link>
   </'''textinput'''>
   </textinput>
  </'''rdf:RDF'''>
  </rdf:RDF>
</source>


===RSS 2.0===
===RSS 2.0===


  '''''<?xml version="1.0"?>'''''
RSS 2.0 is a slight revision of RSS 0.91
  <'''rss''' ''version''="2.0">
 
   <'''channel'''>
<source lang="XML">
     <'''title'''>Liftoff News</'''title'''>
  <?xml version="1.0"?>
     <'''link'''><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/</nowiki></'''link'''>
  <rss version="2.0">
     <'''description'''>Liftoff to Space Exploration.</'''description'''>
   <channel>
     <'''language'''>en-us</'''language'''>
     <title>Liftoff News</title>
     <'''pubDate'''>Tue, 10 Jun 2003 04:00:00 GMT</'''pubDate'''>
     <link><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/</nowiki></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'''>
     <lastBuildDate>Tue, 10 Jun 2003 09:41:01 GMT</lastBuildDate>
     <'''docs'''><nowiki>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</nowiki></'''docs'''>
     <docs><nowiki>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</nowiki></docs>
     <'''generator'''>Weblog Editor 2.0</'''generator'''>
     <generator>Weblog Editor 2.0</generator>
     <'''managingEditor'''>editor@example.com</'''managingEditor'''>
     <managingEditor>editor@example.com</managingEditor>
     <'''webMaster'''>webmaster@example.com</'''webMaster'''>
     <webMaster>webmaster@example.com</webMaster>
      
      
     <'''item'''>
     <item>
       <'''title'''>Star City</'''title'''>
       <title>Star City</title>
       <'''link'''><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-starcity.asp</nowiki></'''link'''>
       <link><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-starcity.asp</nowiki></link>
       <'''description'''>How do Americans get ready to work with Russians aboard the
       <description>How do Americans get ready to work with Russians aboard the
         International Space Station? They take a crash course in culture, language
         International Space Station? They take a crash course in culture, language
         and protocol at Russia's Star City.</'''description'''>
         and protocol at Russia's Star City.</description>
       <'''pubDate'''>Tue, 03 Jun 2003 09:39:21 GMT</'''pubDate'''>
       <pubDate>Tue, 03 Jun 2003 09:39:21 GMT</pubDate>
       <'''guid'''><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/06/03.html#item573</nowiki></'''guid'''>
       <guid><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/06/03.html#item573</nowiki></guid>
     </'''item'''>
     </item>
      
      
     <'''item'''>
     <item>
       <'''title'''>Space Exploration</'''title'''>
       <title>Space Exploration</title>
       <'''link'''><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/</nowiki></'''link'''>
       <link><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/</nowiki></link>
       <'''description'''>Sky watchers in Europe, Asia, and parts of Alaska and Canada
       <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'''>
         will experience a partial eclipse of the Sun on Saturday, May 31st.</description>
       <'''pubDate'''>Fri, 30 May 2003 11:06:42 GMT</'''pubDate'''>
       <pubDate>Fri, 30 May 2003 11:06:42 GMT</pubDate>
       <'''guid'''><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/30.html#item572</nowiki></'''guid'''>
       <guid><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/30.html#item572</nowiki></guid>
     </'''item'''>
     </item>
      
      
     <'''item'''>
     <item>
       <'''title'''>The Engine That Does More</'''title'''>
       <title>The Engine That Does More</title>
       <'''link'''><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-VASIMR.asp</nowiki></'''link'''>
       <link><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-VASIMR.asp</nowiki></link>
       <'''description'''>Before man travels to Mars, NASA hopes to design new engines
       <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
         that will let us fly through the Solar System more quickly.  The proposed
         VASIMR engine would do that.</'''description'''>
         VASIMR engine would do that.</description>
       <'''pubDate'''>Tue, 27 May 2003 08:37:32 GMT</'''pubDate'''>
       <pubDate>Tue, 27 May 2003 08:37:32 GMT</pubDate>
       <'''guid'''><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/27.html#item571</nowiki></'''guid'''>
       <guid><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/27.html#item571</nowiki></guid>
     </'''item'''>
     </item>
      
      
     <'''item'''>
     <item>
       <'''title'''>Astronauts' Dirty Laundry</'''title'''>
       <title>Astronauts' Dirty Laundry</title>
       <'''link'''><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-laundry.asp</nowiki></'''link'''>
       <link><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-laundry.asp</nowiki></link>
       <'''description'''>Compared to earlier spacecraft, the International Space
       <description>Compared to earlier spacecraft, the International Space
         Station has many luxuries, but laundry facilities are not one of them.
         Station has many luxuries, but laundry facilities are not one of them.
         Instead, astronauts have other options.</'''description'''>
         Instead, astronauts have other options.</description>
       <'''pubDate'''>Tue, 20 May 2003 08:56:02 GMT</'''pubDate'''>
       <pubDate>Tue, 20 May 2003 08:56:02 GMT</pubDate>
       <'''guid'''><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/20.html#item570</nowiki></'''guid'''>
       <guid><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/20.html#item570</nowiki></guid>
     </'''item'''>
     </item>
   </'''channel'''>
   </channel>
  </'''rss'''>
  </rss>
</source>
 


===Atom 1.0===
===Atom 1.0===
<pre>
 
Example found in the [http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4287 specification]:
<source lang="XML">
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
<feed xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom">
Line 171: Line 201:


</feed>
</feed>
</pre>
</source>


==Images==
== News feed icons ==


For all news feed standards, there is a unique official image:
For all news feed standards, there is a unique suggested icon (and that should replace the stupid "XML" icon):


[[Image:128px-Feed-icon.svg.png]]
[[Image:128px-Feed-icon.svg.png]]
==Educational usage==
* Check the status of student's work in the different platforms like [[Wiki]], [[Blog]] or [[Portal]]
* Provide students with a feed that brings them latest news about a class (won't work with an [[LMS]] for security reasons).
* Provide students with an aggregator that shows headlines from news on different web sites of interest
* Include sideboxes in portals like [[C3MS]] or [[LMS]] like Moodle that display headlines from important websites. This is similar to the above, but the idea is to "open up" typical student's focus from task-related things in a learning environment to wards the rest of the world
* Organization of collective / collaborative scenarios where each student has his "own" space, but information can be shared.
== Links ==
=== Introductions ===
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_%28file_format%29 RSS file format] (Wikipedia)
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_%28standard%29 Atom] (Wikipedia)
* [http://www.w3schools.com/rss/ RSS 2 Tutorial] (W3Schools)
*[http://www.mnot.net/rss/tutorial/ RSS Tutorial] (2005)
*[http://www.weblogg-ed.com/2004/03/30#a1655 RSS: A Quick Start Guide for Educators] (2004)
*[http://www.faganfinder.com/search/rss.shtml All about RSS] (2004)
*[http://www.mezzoblue.com/archives/2004/05/19/what_is_rssx/ What is RSS/XML/Atom/Syndication?] (2004)
*[http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=169476&redir=1 What is RSS?] (2004)
=== Specifications ===
None of the three popular RSS 0.91, RSS 2.0 and Atom is defined with a formal language. However, XML grammars (DTDs, Relax or XML Schema) can be found.
* [http://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc4287 rfc4287] Atom standard by the Internet Society, 2005. This specification defines an informative Relax NG schema (in Appendix B).
* [http://www.rssboard.org/rss-specification RSS 2.0 Specification] at RSSBoard.org.
* [http://www.rssboard.org/rss-0-9-1-netscape RSS 0.91 Specification]. A copy of the original RSS 0.91 specification published by Netscape on July 10, 1999
=== Examples ===
; New feeds
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10628494 News feeds from the BBC]
* [http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Special:RecentChanges Recent changes in this wiki]
; Content aggregators
* See [[News feed aggregator]]
[[Category: Social computing]]
[[Category: XML]]
[[Category:web standards]]

Latest revision as of 19:33, 4 February 2014

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 news and updates. News feeds can be read by web-based or software-based news readers (also called aggregators).

Software

  • See News Feed Aggregator for standalone tools. Nowadays, most people use either a web navigator (E.g. Firefox) or so-called webtops (web dashboards)
  • Most portals including online content creation services can include News feeds in various formats. In web 2.0 interfaces, you may have to use some kind of Widget that can configure with a few options, including a title, the RSS feed URL, number of items, details, etc.
  • All modern web browsers can read RSS feed. In addition, there exist extensions that add extra functionality.
  • There are libraries (e.g. PHP) for writing custom RSS server-side aggregators

RSS/Atom Variants

  1. RSS 0.90
    • RSS as invented by Netscape, RSS = RDF Site Summary
  2. RSS 0.91
    • Second version of Netscape, RSS = Rich Site Summary
    • simple syntax and not compatible with RDF
    • this format is still popular
  3. RSS 0.92
    • like RSS 0.91 but some improvements, like UTF-8 support
  4. RSS 1.0
    • based on RDF
    • not very popular, since the "web 2.0" crowd does not seem to understand or like concepts underlying the semantic web.
  5. RSS 2.0
    • follow-up of RSS 0.91 and 0.92
    • Not RDF compatible (simpler than RSS 1.0)
  6. Atom is another news feeds standard. The XML syntax differs from RSS 0.9x/2.0 but the principle is the same.

Life Feed example

This wiki has an extension that allows to include RSS feeds.

The following example feed is taken from http://e4innovation.com/ example, i.e. contents from the feed URL = http://e4innovation.com/?feed=rss2

Short version, 5 items max.:


Extension:RSS -- Error: "http://e4innovation.com/?feed=rss2" is not in the list of allowed feeds. There are no allowed feed URLs in the list.


Long version, 3 items only:


Extension:RSS -- Error: "http://e4innovation.com/?feed=rss2" is not in the list of allowed feeds. There are no allowed feed URLs in the list.


Code Examples

Examples taken from wikipedia

RSS 1.0

Based on RDF, not popular:

<?xml version="1.0"?>
 
 <rdf:RDF 
  xmlns:rdf="<nowiki>http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#</nowiki>"
  xmlns="<nowiki>http://purl.org/rss/1.0/</nowiki>">
 
  <channel rdf:about="<nowiki>http://www.xml.com/xml/news.rss</nowiki>">
    <title>XML.com</title>
    <link><nowiki>http://xml.com/pub</nowiki></link>
    <description>
      XML.com features a rich mix of information and services 
      for the XML community.
    </description>
    <image rdf:resource="<nowiki>http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif</nowiki>" />
    <items>
      <rdf:Seq>
        <rdf:li resource="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html</nowiki>" />
        <rdf:li resource="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/rdfdb/index.html</nowiki>" />
      </rdf:Seq>
    </items>
    <textinput rdf:resource="<nowiki>http://search.xml.com</nowiki>" />
  </channel>
 
  <image rdf:about="<nowiki>http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif</nowiki>">
    <title>XML.com</title>
    <link><nowiki>http://www.xml.com</nowiki></link>
    <url><nowiki>http://xml.com/universal/images/xml_tiny.gif</nowiki></url>
  </image>
 
  <item rdf:about="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html</nowiki>">
    <title>Processing Inclusions with XSLT</title>
    <link><nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/xslt/xslt.html</nowiki></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="<nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/rdfdb/index.html</nowiki>">
    <title>Putting RDF to Work</title>
    <link><nowiki>http://xml.com/pub/2000/08/09/rdfdb/index.html</nowiki></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="<nowiki>http://search.xml.com</nowiki>">
    <title>Search XML.com</title>
    <description>Search XML.com's XML collection</description>
    <name>s</name>
    <link><nowiki>http://search.xml.com</nowiki></link>
  </textinput>
 </rdf:RDF>

RSS 2.0

RSS 2.0 is a slight revision of RSS 0.91

 <?xml version="1.0"?>
 <rss version="2.0">
   <channel>
     <title>Liftoff News</title>
     <link><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/</nowiki></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><nowiki>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</nowiki></docs>
     <generator>Weblog Editor 2.0</generator>
     <managingEditor>editor@example.com</managingEditor>
     <webMaster>webmaster@example.com</webMaster>
     
     <item>
       <title>Star City</title>
       <link><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-starcity.asp</nowiki></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><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/06/03.html#item573</nowiki></guid>
     </item>
     
     <item>
       <title>Space Exploration</title>
       <link><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/</nowiki></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><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/30.html#item572</nowiki></guid>
     </item>
     
     <item>
       <title>The Engine That Does More</title>
       <link><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-VASIMR.asp</nowiki></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><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/27.html#item571</nowiki></guid>
     </item>
     
     <item>
       <title>Astronauts' Dirty Laundry</title>
       <link><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/news/2003/news-laundry.asp</nowiki></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><nowiki>http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/2003/05/20.html#item570</nowiki></guid>
     </item>
   </channel>
 </rss>


Atom 1.0

Example found in the specification:

<?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>

News feed icons

For all news feed standards, there is a unique suggested icon (and that should replace the stupid "XML" icon):

128px-Feed-icon.svg.png


Educational usage

  • Check the status of student's work in the different platforms like Wiki, Blog or Portal
  • Provide students with a feed that brings them latest news about a class (won't work with an LMS for security reasons).
  • Provide students with an aggregator that shows headlines from news on different web sites of interest
  • Include sideboxes in portals like C3MS or LMS like Moodle that display headlines from important websites. This is similar to the above, but the idea is to "open up" typical student's focus from task-related things in a learning environment to wards the rest of the world
  • Organization of collective / collaborative scenarios where each student has his "own" space, but information can be shared.

Links

Introductions

Specifications

None of the three popular RSS 0.91, RSS 2.0 and Atom is defined with a formal language. However, XML grammars (DTDs, Relax or XML Schema) can be found.

  • rfc4287 Atom standard by the Internet Society, 2005. This specification defines an informative Relax NG schema (in Appendix B).

Examples

New feeds
Content aggregators