User guide

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What information does RSS provide?
RSS provides very basic information to do its notification. It is made up of a list of items
presented in order from newest to oldest. Each item usually consists of a simple title describing
the item along with a more complete description and a link to a web page with the actual
information being described. Sometimes this description is the full information you want to read
(such as the content of a weblog post) and sometimes it is just a summary.
For example, the RSS information for headlines on a local news website could contain the
following information:
Item 2:
Title:
Governor to visit
Description:
The governor is scheduled to visit the city on July
1st. This is the first visit since the election two
years ago. The mayor is planning a big reception.
Link:
http://www.gardencitynews.com/news/2004/06/gov-
visit.htm
The RSS information is placed into a single file on a website in a manner similar to normal web
pages. However, the information is coded in the XML computer language for use by a program
(the RSS aggregator) and not by a person like a normal web page.
RSS aggregator programs
Think of an RSS aggregator as just a web browser for RSS content. RSS aggregators
automatically check a series of RSS feeds for new items on an ongoing basis, making it is
possible to keep track of changes to multiple websites without needing to tediously read and re-
read each of the websites yourself. They detect the additions and present them all together to
you in a compact and useful manner. If the title and description of an item are of interest, the link
can be used to quickly bring the related web page up for reading.
Here is a screen shot of an
RSS aggregator in action. On
the left is a list of the RSS
feeds being monitored, along
with an indication of the
number of unread items in
each feed in parenthesis. On
the right are the details of the most recent items in a selected RSS feed (in this case, the New
York Times).
There are many RSS aggregators available. Some are accessed through a browser, some are
integrated into email programs, and some run as a standalone application on your personal
computer.
How do I find out if a website has an RSS feed?
It is getting more and more common for websites to have RSS feeds. They usually indicate the
existence of the feed on the home page or main news page with a link to "RSS", or sometimes
by displaying an orange button with the letters "XML" or "RSS". RSS feeds are also often found