An RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed is a web-based technology that allows users to subscribe to updates from websites, blogs, and other content providers.
It works by delivering new content in a standardised XML-based format, making it easy for users to stay up-to-date with their favourite sites without having to manually visit each site or check for updates.
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a text-based, human-readable markup language used to store and transport structured data. It utilises a set of user-defined, nested tags to describe the structure and organisation of the data, making it easily understandable by both humans and machines.
Here’s a step-by-step explanation of how an RSS feed works:
- Content creation: The website or content provider creates new content, such as articles, blog posts, or podcasts.
- RSS feed generation: The website generates an RSS feed, which is an XML file containing the metadata (title, description, link, publication date, etc.) of the most recent content. This XML file is hosted on the website’s server and is updated whenever new content is published.
- Subscription: Users interested in receiving updates from a particular website can subscribe to its RSS feed using an RSS reader or aggregator. This software fetches the feed’s XML file and stores the metadata of the content items.
- Content distribution: When the website publishes new content, it updates the RSS feed with the new item’s metadata. The RSS reader or aggregator regularly checks for updates in the subscribed feeds and downloads the latest XML files.
- Content presentation: The RSS reader displays the new content to the user in an organised manner, making it easy to browse the latest updates from multiple sources. Users can click on the content’s title or link to visit the original website and read the full article or access the complete content.