Really Simple Syndication or RSS is an XML based data format which is used to syndicate (distribute) the contents of a website. This data format is generally used for those websites which are daily or hourly updated like blogs, forums, newsgroups or sites which provide news services. A RSS feed is an XML file (.xml) which contains XML code. Each file contains one or more items. Each item contains its title, description and link back to the full contents of the article. The distributed contents of a website are also known as the feeds.
Now the question is what the use of such type of syndication. When you update your website and want to tell your visitors about it, then you use this technology. Otherwise a visitor will have to manually check each webpage of a website for an update. There are special programs known as 'RSS Readers' through which you can upload and publish your feeds on the net and inform your visitors about the latest updates on your website. One such program is newsgator.com. Generally these readers (also known as aggregators) are free to use and can also be used to develop syndicated contents. Majority of people subscribe to feeds via 'subscribe button' or 'subscribe' link available on the websites and only those who are familiar with 'XML' develop them. There are some new programs available on the net to develop syndicated contents like the 'List Garden' Program. These programs don't require a user to have the knowledge of XML. This means, now anybody who is familiar with windows or a standard PC can now develop RSS feeds.
Source: ICT Solutions - Really Simple Syndication Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Himanshu_Sharma |
No comments:
Post a Comment