Grab Headlines From A Remote RSS File

In this article, I've shown you how to create a syndicated feed reader that retrieves a single remote feed, transforms it using XSLT, and displays it as part of a Web page. The system can also adapt to multiple feed types through the use of XSLT stylesheets.

The application uses a DOM Document to analyze the feed and determine the appropriate stylesheet, but you can further extend it by moving some of that logic into an external stylesheet. You can also adapt the system so that it can pull more than one feed, perhaps based on a user selection, with each one creating its own cached file. Similarly, you can enable the user to determine the interval between feed retrievals.

Resources

• Check out
  Syndic8, where you'll find thousands of RSS feeds, searchable
  by type and toolkit. It also includes a good reference section with spec documents.
  
  
• Read James Lewin's "An introduction to RSS feeds" (developerWorks, November 2000).
  
  
• For another perspective, check out "The Python Web services developer: RSS for Python" by Mike Olson and Uche Ogbuji (developerWorks, November 2002).
  
  
• Read Michael Kay's article explaining "What kind of language is XSLT?" (developerWorks, February 2001).
  
  
• Responsibility for RSS 2.0 was recently transferred to
  the Berkman Center at Harvard. This may or may not have an effect on the (Not)Echo/(Not)Atom/WhateverTheyVoteToCallIt project.
  
  
• Visit Adam Curry's Weblog.
  
  
• Read the XSLT 1.0 Recommendation, and get a heads-up on XSLT 2.0
  at the World Wide Web Consortium's XSL page.
  
  
• Find more resources on the developerWorks
  XML and Web Services zones.
  
  
• IBM's DB2 database provides not only relational database storage, but also XML-related tools such as the DB2 XML Extender which provides a bridge between XML and relational systems. Visit the DB2 Developer Domain to learn more about DB2.
  
  
• Find out how you can become an IBM Certified Developer in XML and related technologies.