Just like wildflowers or weeds, springing up across the net are more services to help you use RSS in your web sites. FeedSweep just came on the scene, in time to help Amy sweep her “webfeeds”:
Anyone that wants to syndicate RSS and Atom feeds on their web sites would be well-served to take a look at FeedSweep, a new free service provided by Howell Developments. The only JavaScript-based system I’m aware of that provides support for parsing Atom Feeds, and in addition, the only one I know of that will let you fully customize CSS style. Also comes with an easy configuration for novice web masters. Aggregates multiple feeds, actually caches (most of the JavaScript-based services don’t, to my knowledge) and comes with a bunch of pre-made styles! Oh, and I wrote it, but I don’t feel shameless for mentioning it because it is IN FACT, free.
As someone who has provided a similar service for well over a year, I say “welcome” we need more of this. Spread the feed spreaders. Granted, Howell D may be correct that not many of the services, myself included, syndicate Atom feeds, though I am hard pressed to see what Atom offers in syndication basic headlines (title, link article) all that you get in old fashioned RSS 0.91, but yes, I guess one might need this down the road.
But c’mon, dude, I doubt your research: “the only one I know of that will let you fully customize CSS style”– your feed code is a pile of HTML tables and embedded CSS from the params sent to your server (colors, etc) and then spit back. Our implemetation does it the sensible way- the feed just returns the information in standard HTML with CSS classes, and all the customization is provided on your own CSS styles.
More “actually caches (most of the JavaScript-based services don’t, to my knowledge)”. Wrong again. The old OnyxRSS library we use caches feeds; the setting on our server is a 3 hour refresh, but if download our scripts, you can make it as long or short as you like.
Maybe I am being picky, but as others have been at this longer then me, I would hesitate making claims of being “first”, “only” and just sell your service, which works fine. based on what it does. Leave the loud claims for the plan jackets down at the used car dealers. Just a handful of others at this for more than a while:
- Adam Curry’s JavaScript RSS-Box Viewer
http://publish.curry.com/rss/ - David Carter-Tod’s Wytheville Community College News Service
http://www.wc.cc.va.us/services/news/ - CaRP: Caching RSS Parser
http://www.mouken.com/rss/ - Infinite Penguins RSS Viewer
http://www.infinitepenguins.net/rss/index.php - RSS-xpress Lite from UKOLN at the University of Bath
http://rssxpress.ukoln.ac.uk/lite/include/
Get ’em, Alan. Don’t let the confused confuse the issue.
The rss2js/OnyxRSS combo is very efficient and customizeable (sp). I’v ebeen using it in a number of applications for a year now and it has performed flawlessly.
Hope all is well with you and yours.
Thanks Randy… Wish I could track down Ed and get his docs for Onyx…
Working on getting some better documentation, er… some documentation up for RSS2JS