RSS - confused

[Tubby]

I have a new site under construction. It has an rss feed, that I would like to display on my old site.

How do I create code that will display the feed how I want it.

Has anyone seen a good "Idiots guide to publishing rss code on a web page"

I have searched around and read several articles. but I can not make sense of them, the articles I think all presume I know something that I do not Know, and I am left sitting here bewildered. .

[kgun]

Hey Tubby:

1. I just answered the same question on the SitePoint forum.
2. As explained there:
   
   Click the last link in my signature and scroll down to the heading:
   
   "Syndication and importing content to your site." Myself I have used Gecko Tribe. Done in a few minutes.
3. I have an "Idiot's guide" in Norwegian on two .No site's where I syndicate content from one to the other.

That is simple coding or even easier, cut and pasting and sometimes reuse.

"But there was nothing on programmers, who you would imagine are the driving force behind the success of the software firms. Perhaps you imagined wrong. “It is an explosive truth that local software companies won’t accept. Most IT professionals in India are not programmers, they are mere coders,” says a senior executive from a global consultancy firm, who has helped Nasscom in researching its industry reports.
In industry parlance, coders are akin to smart assembly line workers as opposed to programmers who are plant engineers. Programmers are the brains, the glorious visionaries who create things. Large software programmes that often run into billions of lines are designed and developed by a handful of programmers. Coders follow instructions to write, evaluate and test small components of the large program. As a computer science student in IIT Mumbai puts it — if programming requires a post graduate level of knowledge of complex algorithms and programming methods, coding requires only high school knowledge of the subject. Coding is also the grime job. It is repetitive and monotonous. Coders know that. They feel stuck in their jobs. They have fallen into the trap of the software hype and now realise that though their status is glorified in the society, intellectually they are stranded. Companies do not offer them stock options anymore and their salaries are not growing at the spectacular rates at which they did a few years ago".

I am not even a coder, but a cut and paster and reuser of code, reuser in a very complex manner though.

More importantly, in my view, the content providers are the most important persons in a company, aside from the customers and the share holders. Content in a wide meaning of the word, product and services. Syndicating and sharing content is very important and is already used in Ad, as RSS SEO etc. by a lot of companies.

Live Earth. Net(t)Sponsor "Chevrolet."

[speed]

If you have PHP on your server then the way I normally import feeds to pages is to use Magpie RSS.

There's usage examples at the end of the page, you can just embed their example between <?php and ?> tags within your page to get started, changing the feed URL to yours obviously.

There are some JavaScript versions but I've never used those so can't point you to one.

[leftinc]

I have been working with using a RSS feed as a way to display a list of videos on my site and found this information helpful:

So What is "Feed to JavaScript"?

[bj]

Another vote for Magpie. It's pretty much the simplest.

[okparrothead]

Hey Tubby,

There's a service out at rss-to-javascript.com that will let you plug in an rss feed address and get a javascript that will format it to display on your site. The front page of the service has been strange lately, so I don't know what's up, but the scripts seem to work once they're installed.

Peace

[Tubby]

Kgun - geronimo171 wrote,
"Please don't get me wrong...i went to quite a few of those links in your list but just could find anything specific to what i want to do.
I think maybe this is perhaps more involved than i thought and i do need to go back a few steps in order to understand how the whole thing works in the first place.
Thank you for the pointers...I'll take a look."

Kgun wrote

"I just answered the same question on the SitePoint forum. "

NO Kgun, You did not answer the question. The fellow is probably in the same boat that I am in. Your answer missed the target

Kgun. I struggle hard, I have an IQ of 140 plus, but I simply am not 'intuitive' when it comes to any sort of program. The answer is simply not there. There are questions that pop up everywhere. heaps of little sentences like "If your server is PHP enabled"

What server?, the one sending - or the one that supplies the results. Is this a program that can be installed by me, or is my server supposed to be php enabled already. If it isn't? . .

Your answer creates lots of questions Kgun.. Yes I feel a little silly for asking it.
But the truth is, I am Tubby. I have limitations on what I understand, because I have missed out on the basics. Nobody prints the basics it is presumed we all know them and we wander along stumbling across them until we achieve 'programmers Enlightenment'

The other day I was asked a question about carburetors by a girl who is restoring an early Nash.
My response was nine questions. To answer her question I needed to know what sort of fuel she was feeding it. etc, etc, maybe the correct response to any question, is a barrage of responding questions?

my feeling is the same as Geronimo"s
"I think maybe this is perhaps more involved than i thought and i do need to go back a few steps in order to understand how the whole thing works in the first place."
Unfortunately, My working days are already around the sixteen hour mark... So I shall miss out on my learning curve, , and once again resort to paying someone at Getafreelancer.com - then keeping the end result filed away for next time. (I shall never learn anything - accept how to create users) . .

O.K. I hope the above sounds friendly, it is meant to. Just putting my perspective out where it can be understood.


I really do love you all....

[Tubby]

okparrothead, I am off to check out - rss-to-javascript.com - I will report back.

Thaks.

[Tubby]

rss-to-javascript.com page is reporting errors

BJ. Magpie, the main pageof Magpie is just gobbledygook to me.

I did read

.When Magpie successfully fetches and parses a feed, it saves the results PHP object to a file in the "cache directory". (this is called "serializing") Next time Magpie is asked to fetch that feed, Magpie will check for a cached version first.

So presumably I install the program on my restored-classics.com sites.

I think this might be problematic as these were my original websites, five years ago I had trouble getting a data base put it on one, so I use another site to run programs.

Nowhere seems to tell me if it is possible to have a program that can re-formats the rss, before it sends it. So that I only need to create a bit of code for every page I wish to feed. Without opting into a paid service.

(not really sure what I am talking about here)
But I really do need the emitting site to do all the work, and be capable of sending a pre formatted feed.

[bj]

Magpie is meant to be installed on the site you wish to pull a feed into, so if that server doesn't have php, then yes, it might be problematical. Most hosting these days has php installed, though. Is it possible to move the site?

Re the formatting of your feed, you need to do that on the site that's creating the feed, the new site. Formats are either Atom or RSS (there are a couple versions of RSS.) So whatever type tool you used to create the feed should tell you what format it's creating the feed in. That determines the syntax you use in Magpie to call the feed into your current site. Feed formats are very simple, MUCH simpler than html. Usually it's only a few terms- title, date, url of origin, and an excerpt of post content.

Truthfully though, Tubby, Wordpress (or ModX or Joomla or TextPattern or MovableType or Drupal any of a dozen other programs) does all this for me, so I've never had to either set up feed generation, or do any more than put a feed url into a plugin tool in my admin area to call a feed into a page. Wordpress, for instance, has a Magpie Plugin. You upload it into the proper directory, activate the plugin, then you have an admin page to administer it and either a widget or a template call to put it into the site.

At the risk of adding a layer of complexity, maybe you should be looking at other ways to accomplish all ths.

[bj]

I did a bit more poking for you. Take a look here:

Free Feeds Directory - Feed Tools Listings of Rss/Xml Feeds.

Widget Finder - Find and Share Cool Gadgets for Desktops, Blogs, Mobiles and Social Spaces on Squidoo

RSS Feeds - a Website Owners Friend in Disguise - SEO Tutorials

[Tubby]

BJ
' Magpie is meant to be installed on the site you wish to pull a feed into, so if that server doesn't have php, then yes, it might be problematical. Most hosting these days has php installed, though. Is it possible to move the site?'

I wish . . I have two old sites. Both really should have been moved years ago. I seem to have discovered a new webmaster problem. "Site-scatter" every time I try to solve the problem. It results in a bigger one. (another site)

I have always had individual pages, and my system here is very simple. I list up to 60 ads an hour by hand, and upload every day or so. So I decided I should get myself a data base that I liked, and simply use it to feed the latest ads to the old pages.
I do not want to abandon the old pages. I will not get the same traffic to an automated site. I simply wanted to run the old and supplement with the new. This would give me the possibility of feeding some other sites. I run a free site. This can create big problems with submissions, as everyone can submit freely. I need to discriminate between the crap and the good stuff. ( I only wish to feed myself non-crap)

The technical stuff seems to have plenty of 'programmers' that would 'do it' for me. But the problem is they just do not understand the value of my old pages and always want the site to be based on the data base. But I cannot put an individual advert on say a results page for '1950 Chev' and I would certainly have more problems directing users to a 'results page ' rather than my static page.

I want my users advert available to whoever can present them sensibly. I do not want them stolen. I do not want them competing with me. Programmers simply want to build me what they have already built before.

BJ, I am starting to get a more holistic picture. I compete with eBay and sites like Craigslist for the classic car viewer. These are huge sites. I want to simply offer Classic car users something that is better refined and of more benefit, and easier to use. If I cannot do that then I will lose my traffic in the long run.

But knowing what I want, and knowing how to create it are two different things. I do not want a site where the odd 'phone Mary for a good time' advert sneaks in. and I do not want to create content for AdSense sites. Doing one without the other seems tricky.

Understanding RSS is becoming important on the web. I know about it - know how it works - know its uses, BUT - I do not yet understand it.

A few years ago I had a 'feed' from a ppc site. that I was able to simply insert the code on the page, I could re size the the area. Something like that would serve my current purpose.

I did talk to a programmer on the phone a few weeks back . . He said something like . Simple, point your rss at the code, then pull it up anywhere you need it - no problems.
But some of these people talk through their hats. They have absolutely no idea what a user will or will not click on. They always presume a 'LOGIN' ensures that people will Log in, and seem blatantly unaware of anybody that does not do what they expect them to do, and dismiss contributions from somebody who has been observing their users for years, as "not needed" . .

RSS. It has bigger possibilities that current use. (for me)
and I would realy like to get my head around how I can make it work

Probably rambles far to much. But maybe it will assist in forming a 'picture'..

[Tubby]

Installing an RSS feed on your website is not as difficult as it sounds. You simply install a script one time-and then anywhere you want the RSS feed to appear you simply pick a feed and copy and paste some code on your page. (read that before)


The first thing you need to do is figure out which script to use.

If your website is using an Unix server and has PHP installed,
(I think I have one of them somewere - but not the site I want to display adverts)


the the easiest PHP script I've found is called CaRP. You will first want to visit the CaRP download page and download the file. CaRP has a free version that you can use on your website. They request that you link back to their website if you use it. Unzip the zip file and upload the files to your website using an FTP program. Then, run the setup file in your web browser, chmod the appropriate files, and continue with the directions given to you in the web browser. (absorbing this)

Once it's installed, the script will give you code to copy and paste wherever your want the RSS feed to be displayed on your website. (your website ?? - any website? my other website ) stopped me dead

You can even change the font, size, and color of the feed by specifying those attributes before the code. (nice)


Phew. . . I wish I was building a new site and never had a million other things to do. I am getting to old for all his study business. (but it is absorbing)
and I wish the writer of the above text, was just a little more specific, when he wrote
" wherever your want the RSS feed to be displayed on your website."
Because it rendered the whole article to me as 'Vauge'

[Tubby]

I would love to be able to view a local car club Website.
And simply simply create some code that I can email them to show adverts in a size that fits there page and content that they want - (specific)

I would never be able to convince the lady that does the web page to install anything. I would like to do the work here and make it simple.

I belong to a small car Club. I like small car Clubs, I like people. My competition does not do this. My Classified advertisers would love to be able to direct specific ads to specific Clubs. .

I want a system that will do this. . On a 'Free site' budget!

[kgun]

Tubby start here:

RSS Software & Services: CaRP (Caching RSS Parser), RSS to JavaScript, Grouper (News search to RSS)

Display RSS feeds on your website:

CaRP : RSS to HTML converter : Free RSS PHP parser script download Scroll down to the bottom, sign up and download the free version. You have to read some instructions on how to do it, and you need PHP on your webserver.


Create RSS feeds. I did not use Gt's. May be that is good enough. There are tons of feed burners. (See below for one of the best known).


That is easier. RSS is XML, so if you find one you like, you can copy and modify the code to your needs.

Here

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="windows-1252"?>
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>DinITSide RSS feed</title>
<description>Bruk RSS til &amp;#229; fortelle surfere og s&amp;#248;kemotorer at det er
nyheter p&amp;#229; siden din.</description>
<link>http://www.dinitside.no</link>
<docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
<lastBuildDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2006 16:09:59 +0100</lastBuildDate>
<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2006 16:09:09 +0100</pubDate>
<generator>FeedForAll v1.0 (1.0.2.0) unlicensed version</generator>
<item>
<title>DinITside.no, et nytt nettsted under MultiFinansIT.no og DigitalPunkt.no er opprettet med viktige nyheter om RSS. legger ut viktig informasjon om RSS.</title>
<description>Bruk RSS til &amp;#229; orientere kunder og surfere om nyheter og nye
produkter p&amp;#229; siden din. Bruk ogs&amp;#229; RSS for &amp;#229; f&amp;#229;
s&amp;#248;kemotorene til &amp;#229; like siden din og bes&amp;#248;ke den oftere. Du
kan syndikere ut alt fra tekst til bilder, tale, video samt
&quot;Podcasts.&quot;</description>
<link>http://www.dinitside.no</link>
<pubDate>Wed, 18 Jan 2006 16:09:09 +0100</pubDate>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>

is an example with Norwegian text. Brutal force, skip that and use the XML tags if that simple stupid format is OK. Save that file like an HTML file on the disk and upload it to your server. The the feed is there. The next step is to import it to the other site using the installed and hopefully functional Gecko PHP scripts.

There are also tools like FeedBurner FeedBurner that should be easy to use (like an office desktop tool). I have never used it. I think that burner is one of the best and most professional.

Neither have I tried Gecko Triebe's feed burner. Can not remember which I used, but it was very easy.

If you want to become a Syndication professionl (knowing different stadards, using web services etc.) you find more than enough information on my site that I pointed you to in my first post.

If you have msn, have signed up and downloaded the tool, I can help you when we are online at the same time.

Note: It is not sure that the tool will function on the Web Server. It depends on how it is configured. I have installed it on three different webservers. On one it functioned at once. On the other two, I had to contact the web hoster so that they could install the script that was needed. (This is an example of a more advanced and elegant using SOAP and object oriented programming. It is the SitePoint - Australian site - news feed imported to my site).

I have not tried Magpie RSS. May be it would be easier if one of those who know that tool could guide you through the set up.

End Note:
Web 2.0 ready browsers, will show the XML file like (similar to) an HTML file.

1. Let us call your two sites AMcar1.com and AMcar2.com.
2. You make the RSS feed (XML file on AMcar1.com).
3. Then it should be possible to consume that feed (file) and present the content directly on AMcar2.com using XSL (and perhaps XLink) without using a PHP parser at all. But that is another story. I have not tried. The correct place to ask is W3Schools Forum (Powered by Invision Power Board) in the XML forums.
4. Are you developing for Web 1.0 (satisfying people with older browsers) my best proposal is described above.

[bj]

Okay, Tubby, if you don't have php installed on the old site(s) you can use an iframe to display info on one site from any other webpage anywhere. To give an example, if you put google adsense on your site, it's displayed in an iframe on your site but the content is actually on Google's server. So if you don't have php on the server the old site's on, then use the php parser script on your new site, pull your feed into a new webpage on your new site, and call it into your old site via iframe. And then come to us on the design board to help you get it looking normal in IE.

The beauty of this approach is that other people can also show your feed this way. I think that's what you want???

Kgun did give you the answer, btw. I think you have to just dive in and do it, or pay someone to set it up for you. I love ya Tubby, but I really think you're overthinking this. Trial and error and getting your hands dirty in the code is the only way it's gonna get done.

To add more confusion, I did find another javascript parser that you might be able to use on the old page to pull from the new. I think. I'm not sure.

XML for <SCRIPT> Cross Platform XML Parsing in JavaScript - Parser Sample Applications Overview

[speed]

Another one for you to look at, this is really a cut and paste solution:

• Go to http://www.springwidgets.com/widgets/view/23
• Click the link: Post, send, or get code for this widget!
• Enter the URL of your feed in the 1st box
• Click the <h> icon
• Paste the code to a web page that you want to show the feed on
• View the web page and you should have the feed in a Flash window

For completeness I'll just add:

One minor problem with iframes, Flash and JavaScript is that the feed is not available to search engines.

The other problem you can have with Flash and JavaScript solutions is that each visitor causes the feed to be read from the source server. Using something like Magpie it caches the feed on the server that is displaying the pages with the feed in them, and as it only reads the feed say once per hour there's less load on the feed provider.