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Content Syndication with RSS (Paperback)

by Ben Hammersley (Author)

3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Product details

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc, USA; 1 edition (4 April 2003)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0596003838
ISBN-13: 978-0596003838
Product Dimensions: 23.7 x 18 x 1.3 cm

Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 697,081 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category:
#5 in Books > Computing & Internet > Programming > Languages > XML > RSS

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Product Description

Originally developed by Netscape in 1999, RSS (which can stand for RDF Site Summary, Rich Site Summary, or Really Simple Syndication) is an XML-based format that allows Web developers to describe and syndicate Web site content. This text offers webloggers, developers, and the programmers who support them a thorough explanation of syndication in general and RSS in particular or Web developers who want to offer XML-based feeds of their content, as well as developers who want to use the content that other people are syndicating, the book explores and explains metadata interpretation, different forms of content syndication, and the increasing use of Web services in this field. If you're interested in producing your own RSS feed, this step-by-step guide to implementation is the book you'll want in hand. RSS is sprouting all over the Web, connecting weblogs and providing news feeds. Originally developed by Netscape in 1999, RSS (which can stand for RDF Site Summary, Rich Site Summary, or Really Simple Syndication) is an XML-based format that allows Web developers to describe and syndicate Web site content. Using RSS files allows developers to create a data feed that supplies headlines, links, and article summaries from a Web site. Other sites can then incorporate them into their pages automatically. Although RSS is in widespread use, people struggle with its confusing and sometimes conflicting documentation and versions. This concise volume begins with an introduction to content syndication on the Internet: its purpose, limitations, and traditions, and answers the question of why would you consider "giving your content away" like this? Next, the book delves into the architecture of content syndication with an overview of the entire system, from content author to end user on another site. You'll follow the flow of data: content, referral data, publish-and-subscribe calls, with a detailed look at the protocols and standards possible at each step. Topics covered in the book include: creating XML syndication feeds with RSS 0.9x and 2.0; beyond headlines - creating richer feeds with RSS 1.0 and RDF metadata; using feeds to enrich a site or find information; publish and subscribe: intelligent updating; news aggregators, such as Meerkat, Syndic8, and Newsisfree, and their Web services; and alternative industry-centric standards.

About the Author

Ben Hammersley is an English emigre, living in Sweden, with his wife, three greyhounds, a few hundred deer, and a two-way satellite connection. For a day job, he writes for the British national press, appearing in The Times, The Guardian and The Observer, but in his free time, he blogs excessively at www.benhammersley.com and runs the Lazyweb.org ideas site. As a member of the RSS 1.0 Working Group, he survived the Great Fork Summer, and as a journalist he has been accosted by the secret police of two countries. To this day, he doesn't know which was worse.

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3.5 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A useful and relatively painless introduction, 11 Mar 2004

By A Customer

RSS is taking over the world - more and more sites are sporting the little orange 'XML' buttons which provide a simple way to keeping up with changes in your aggregator of choice. This book aims to explain the what and the how of RSS to bloggers, developers and programmers, particularly those who want to create their own feeds.

Although this is a thin book by O'Reilly and technical book standards, it's not light on content. Ben Hammersley rattles through the convoluted history of content syndication and RSS in particular, then delves into the standards and how they are used. There's also good coverage of how to create your own feeds, how to integrate other feeds into your site and other aspects of how the standards are used in practice.

This isn't a book for raw beginners - if you've never heard of XML before, you'll probably need to get up to speed with the basics at least - but it covers what you need to know about the subject in a clear but not overly-long way. It's also written in a pretty conversational style which lightens up what could have been a pretty dull text. Ben Hammersley writes for a wide variety of publications on a wide variety of more-and-less geeky subjects, so he's well-able to explain technical stuff to an unfamilar audience.

Two minor criticisms - all the code examples are in Perl, which although useful is somewhat restrictive; and the references to specific applications and services are likely to be quickly out
of date.

There are other books out there that cover similar ground along with other subjects, but this is a good introduction to RSS and content syndication specifically. It might not be something you'll refer to on a daily basis, but it's worth the purchase price nevertheless.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but doesn't quite fulfill its potential, 2 May 2003

By	N. Bown "njbown" (London, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The first thing that strikes you about this book is how thin it is. At 208 pages including the index, it has to be one of the shortest books that O'Reilly produce. However, once you start reading the book it is well laid out and easy to read as avid O'Reilly readers come to expect. The examples are clear and all current RSS standards are covered and the topic is covered in well with no bias on the political situation which has surrounded RSS since its earliest days.

There is one major gripe that I do have about this book; the examples are solely in Perl and whilst this is a method that many people will use, it would have been nice to see examples in other languages such as Python and PHP.

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