What is RSS (“Really Simple Syndication“)?
According to rss-specifications, RSS is a defined standard based on XML with the specific purpose of delivering updates to web-based content. RSS is becoming increasing popular. It is by far the most popular feed being used today, because of it’s free and easy use. To my understanding, RSS allows the user to share and distribute web content. The original RSS, version 0.90, was designed by Netscape when they were trying to get into the portal business. The main difference between web content and RSS is content published in an RSS feed is typically set up to send out notifications whenever new material is available. Because RSS is popular with both bloggers and news media organizations, you can use RSS search engines to find information in near real-time. Listed below is a chart of RSS Versions and Recommendations which I thought would be useful:
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RSS versions and recommendations |
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|
Version |
Owner |
Pros |
Status |
Recommendation |
|
0.90 |
Netscape | Obsoleted by 1.0 | Don’t use | |
|
0.91 |
UserLand | Drop dead simple | Officially obsoleted by 2.0, but still quite popular | Use for basic syndication. Easy migration path to 2.0 if you need more flexibility |
|
0.92, 0.93, 0.94 |
UserLand | Allows richer metadata than 0.91 | Obsoleted by 2.0 | Use 2.0 instead |
|
1.0 |
RSS-DEV Working Group | RDF-based, extensibility via modules, not controlled by a single vendor | Stable core, active module development | Use for RDF-based applications or if you need advanced RDF-specific modules |
|
2.0 |
UserLand | Extensibility via modules, easy migration path from 0.9x branch | Stable core, active module development | Use for general-purpose, metadata-rich syndication |
http://www.rss-specifications.com/what-is-rss.htm
http://searchenginewatch.com/3530926
