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RSS defines an XML grammar (a set of
HTML-like tags) for sharing news. Each RSS text file contains both
static information about your site, plus dynamic information about
your new stories, all surrounded by matching start and end tags.
Each story is defined by an <item> tag, which contains a headline
TITLE, URL, and DESCRIPTION. Here's an example:
...
<item>
<title>RSS Resources</title>
<link>http://www.webreference.com/authoring/languages/xml/rss/</link>
<description>Defined in XML, the Rich Site Summary (RSS) format has
quietly become a dominant format for distributing headlines on the Web.
Our list of links gives you the tools, tips and tutorials you need to get
started using RSS. 0323</description>
</item>
...
Each RSS channel can contain up to 15 items and is easily parsed
using Perl or other open source software. If you want more details
on creating RSS files see
Jonathan Eisenzopf's excellent article in the February issue of
Web Techniques. But you don't have to worry about the details, we've
made it easy to create your own RSS channel with free open source
scripts, all Web based. More on these later.
Once you've created and
validated your RSS text file, register it at the various
aggregators, and watch the hits roll in. Any site can now grab and
display your feed regularly, driving traffic your way. Update your
RSS file, and all the external sites that subscribe to your feed
will be automatically updated. What can be easier? But wait, there's
more
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