Beginning XML, 4th Edition

Chapter 13. RSS, Atom, and Content Syndication

One of the interesting characteristics of the Web is the way that certain ideas seem to arise spontaneously, without any centralized direction. Content syndication technologies definitely fall into this category, and they have emerged as a direct consequence of the linked structure of the Web and general standardization regarding the use of XML.

This chapter focuses on a number of aspects of content syndication, including the RSS and Atom formats and their role in such areas as blogs, news services, and the like. There is no doubt these technologies will play a major role in the next logical leap in the connectedness of the Web, so it's useful to understand them not just from an XML-format standpoint but also in terms of how they are shaping the future Internet.

This chapter covers the following:

• Concepts and technologies of content syndication and meta data

• A brief look at the history of RSS, Atom, and related languages

• What the feed languages have in common and how they differ

• How to implement a simple newsreader/aggregator using Python

• Examples of XSLT used to generate and display newsfeeds

There is a lot more to RSS, Atom, and content syndication than can be covered in a single chapter, so the aim here is to give you a good grounding in the basic ideas, and then provide a taste of how XML tools such as SAX and XSLT can be used in this rapidly expanding field.

Syndication and Meta Data

Turn on your TV and you'll see spontaneous snapshots of ...