Basically RSS - which stands for Really Simple Syndication - is a way of letting you know when a web site has something new. For this to happen you must use a 'news reader' which automatically notifies you that the website you have linked to has something new to show you.
To use an RSS feed simply paste the URL into your news reader. For example the RSS feed for the 'live images' pages on Snookerimages-Pictures.com is:
http://www.snookerimages-pictures.com/rss.php?albumId=47
A news reader is a piece of software that checks the RSS feeds from the website and lets you read any new articles that have been added.
There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications.
You just tell your RSS reader program (or browser extension) to watch an RSS file, and when that file changes, your reader will tell you about new items from that web site.
RSS is a new way for people who publish content online to notify people interested whenever fresh content is available, without you having to bookmark and contact the website yourself.
Some key points to be aware of from the outset include:
* The use of RSS benefits everyone involved - for publishers and content providers details of new content can be accessed by a much broader audience, for web site producers new content can be easily integrated into web sites or portals, and for end users easy access to new content is greatly facilitated.
*An RSS file (also known as an RSS feed or RSS channel) consists of a list of items, each of which contains a title, description and a link to a web page. Typically the full content itself is made available separately and can be accessed by the link in the RSS file.
* Utilising an RSS feed is straightforward. Once an RSS file is made available on a web site, interested parties can simply gather the file from the site and reuse the content in a variety of ways.
* There are a number of different versions of RSS. Although this has led to some confusion and debate it is not a major issue as almost all RSS applications can handle any RSS version.
* RSS can stand for 'Rich Site Summary', 'RDF Site Summary' or 'Really Simple Syndication' depending on who you ask and which version they are speaking about.
* RSS is an XML based format. If you already know a bit about HTML and XML then RSS will be a breeze!
Because RSS is an XML format and not simple HTML, RSS files must be processed (or 'parsed') before they can be displayed. RSS aggregators are applications which provide the means to read the content of RSS files. Some of these aggregators are web based, others are programs which can be downloaded and used on the desktop as standalone programs. Aggregators are also being developed to allow feeds to be read in a number of commonly used applications such as web browsers and email clients.
The information about RSS is massive and so I have included some links below which will direct you to sites which deal explane in more detail the operation of RSS.
Links
- RSS - A Primer for Publishers & Content Providers
- RSS Feeds Explained
- News feeds from the BBC
- RSS Feeds
- Making RSS pretty
- Why RSS?
- NewsFire - Mac
- Newsgator - Windows & Mac
