Really Simple Syndication (RSS) has taken off in a big way. Just
as satellite television beams more channels into your home than
you can watch, RSS allows to you display an endless amount of
other peoples content. Whilst RSS XML feeds are plenty, there's
not as much in the way of clear, simple instruction when it
comes to making use of those feeds.
If you're one of the webmasters who uses a content management
system that makes using RSS XML feeds as simple as specifying a
feed URL then you're fortunate in that respect. For others, the
options available tend to be offered by developers of the
software and the usage instructions provided can often be
riddled with technical jargon. Many cry, "Use my feed", but
fewer tell you how.
One of the best and easiest ways I've found to show the content
from an RSS XML feed on one of my websites is to use a ready
made PHP parser. Now, don't worry about what that means, just
think of it as somthing that someone has already created; a
blackbox that makes it easy for you to use content from RSS
feeds and display it on your website.
For this guide, I've used MagpieRSS because it's compact, works
well and is distributed under the GPL, which basically means
it's free for you to use. Now, MagpieRSS is written in PHP so
you'll need a compatible hosting account that allows you to
execute PHP scripts.
For the purposes of this guide, I'm assuming you've some level
of basic knowledge about websites e.g. you know how to FTP,
change file permissions etc. Covering the basics of running a
website is beyond the scope of this article.
Instead, let's cover what are probably the most difficult steps;
displaying the content from an RSS feed on your website.
1. Download the latest stable release of MagpieRSS. 2. Extract
the contents of the ZIP file onto your computer. 3. The core
files you need from the ZIP package are rss_cache.inc,
rss_fetch.inc, rss_parse.inc, rss_utils.inc. You'll also need
the extlib folder together with the Snoopy.class.inc file inside
of it. 4. Create a new file to display your RSS feed. I've
called mine, index.php. Inside this file, copy and paste the
contents of the file referred to below and save it. 5. Upload
all of the files and the folder mentioned in steps 3 and 4 to
your hosting account. Put them into the desired location, but
ensure that the Snoopy.class.inc file is still within the extlib
folder. 6. Then visit the file you created in step 4 using your
web browser.
That's the basics of it. Once you've got this far, customising
the way you present the content of the feed is relatively easy.
Just refer back to the MagpieRSS website for guidance on how to
do this.
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