WordPress® Bible

Chapter 14. Using Offline Editors

IN THIS CHAPTER

• What is XML-RPC?

• Understanding XML-RPC security risks

• Looking at offline blog editors

As our world becomes incredibly interwoven, tied together via the Internet, it is becoming increasingly necessary to find simpler ways to do Internet-related jobs. iPhones make it easier to access the Web and rich media from mobile phones. Web services, like Mint.com, make it easier to manage personal finances. It seems natural that there would be an easier way to manage content creation as well.

As powerful as WordPress is and as intuitive as the interface has become since WordPress 2.7, many people simply want to write without having to log into a Web site. Likewise, bloggers who spend a lot of time on the road often find it easier to write offline and publish later. Internet access might be scarce or patchy, or not available at all.

Enter offline editors, more technically known as XML-RPC editors. These offline editors are typically desktop clients, but can take the form of a smart phone application as well. In this chapter, I introduce you to some of the offline options out there.

What Is XML-RPC?

Fortunately, WordPress supports offline editing via an XML Remote Procedure Call (XML-RPC) application programming interface (API). The XML-RPC, protocol was designed in 1998 to handle remote Web service interaction. It quickly became a standard in the early blogging platform Radio Userland (http://radio.userland.com/), and became the basis of the MetaWeblog ...