Root Element
The exact format of an RSS feed varies from version to version. Most have a root node named 'rss' containing an attribute named 'version':
<rss version="0.91">
...
</rss>
Some use an alternate format named RDF (Resource Definition Language):
<rdf:RDF
xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/">
...
</rdf:RDF>
Channel Element
The root node typically contains a single child node named 'channel'. A channel is the basic unit of an RSS feed. It is the container for a collection of articles:
<rss version="0.91">
<channel>
...
</channel>
</rss>
A channel node is required to have at least three child elements:
- title - the name of the channel
- link - a link to the channel contents
- description - a short description of the channel contents
<rss version="0.91">
<channel>
<title>BBC News | Technology | UK Edition</title>
<link>http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/1/hi/technology/default.stm</link>
<description>Updated every minute of every day -
FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY</description>
</channel>
</rss>
A number of optional channel elements can be included, such as 'language' and 'copyright'.
<rss version="0.91">
<channel>
<title>BBC News | Technology | UK Edition</title>
<link>http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/1/hi/technology/default.stm</link>
<description>Updated every minute of every day -
FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY</description>
<language>en-us</language>
<copyright>BBC News 2004</copyright>
</channel>
</rss>
Item Element
A channel also includes a collection of 'item' elements. Items can be either children or siblings of a channel.
Each item describes a single unit of syndicated content:
<rss version="0.91">
<channel>
<title>BBC News | Technology | UK Edition</title>
<link>http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/1/hi/technology/default.stm</link>
<description>Updated every minute of every day -
FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY</description>
</channel>
<item>
...
</item>
<item>
...
</item>
</rss>
An item element must contain at least one 'title' or 'description' element. It is most common, however, to see 'title', 'link', and 'description'.
<rss version="0.91">
<channel>
<title>BBC News | Technology | UK Edition</title>
<link>http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/1/hi/technology/default.stm</link>
<description>Updated every minute of every day -
FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY</description>
</channel>
<item>
<title>UK military denies ban on iPods</title>
<description>The MOD has denied reports that it has banned Apple's iPod
due to fears it could be used to steal files.</description>
<link>http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/1/hi/technology/3891421.stm</link>
</item>
<item>
<title>Windows update hits a new delay</title>
<description>A major update to the Windows XP operating system will be
available from August, later than expected.</description>
<link>http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/click/rss/0.91/public/-/1/hi/technology/3889353.stm</link>
</item>
</rss>
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