Explanation of RSS

Hi there. I currently have a site where someone can create a new article on a html page. The data is then sent to a php page (that the user never sees) by ajax. The php then puts the info into a mySQL database. Then to view the data the same steps occur. They go to the "View articles" page, and then the some ajax calls up a php page which calls up the data from the mysql database.

My question is, can someone please explain, in very very simple terms (imagine that you are explaining this to a 5-year-old). How I would make/implement RSS into my site to allow someone to get the article information? In your explanation I don't know what XML is or how to implement it, so in your explanation if you could explain that too, that would really help me out.

Thanks

Solution: Explanation of RSS

I doubt that anyone can give you this much detailed explanation here at EE. There is A LOT of background information that you need to understand, and if you do not know anything about RSS and XML, you will need to get that understanding before you can know what questions you need to ask!

RSS is a specialized subset of XML. Begin your learning process by reading up on RSS here. You will want to read it thoroughly and follow the links.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html

To learn about XML, start the process here. There are entire books devoted to the subject (I have three), but Tizag has a good intro, as do others.
http://www.google.com/#hl=en&q=xml+tutorial

To get the article information into an RSS feed, you would write a script that executes a MySQL query. The query will get the basics about the articles - title, date, author, etc. The script will format this information from the query results set into the XML, using the subset of XML that is RSS. Then you will write the XML file into a predictable place on your server. This can be done in the background, or scheduled via a "cron" job, or if it is a very active feed, it could be done on every page load.

To present the RSS feed to your clients, just put a link to the XML file on your web site, same as any link.

Once you have an understanding of some of the background and you have specific questions, please post back here and I will be glad to help you get it working. A sample RSS feed file is attached. They all look alike.

Look at this page, on the right sidebar and click the link that says "News via RSS"
http://www.ntcicfunds.com/

Best regards, ~Ray

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Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:00:02 CST
 

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NTCIC News Updated on Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:00:02 CST!
http://www.NTCICFunds.com/news/
The RSS Feed from www.NTCICFunds.com has been updated.
Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:00:02 CST

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