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RSS Overview

RSS Parser and
Generator Overview

RSS Generator Instructions

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RSS Parser and Generator Overview

The RSS Parser performs the following functions:

• Syntax checks an RSS file to make sure that it conforms to the DTD (Document Type Definition). A nice DTD tutorial can be found at http://www.w3schools.com/dtd/default.asp.
• Performs feature extraction
• Generates HTML using the extracted features

When creating RSS content for the Penn State Portal, you have two options:

• Do it yourself
  • To create your own RSS content, use the specifications set forth in the DTD and a simple text editor.
  • Free and commercial text editors can be found at http://freshmeat.net/browse/63/.
• Use the Portal RSS Generator Tool

RSS Generator Tool

The RSS Generator is an easy-to-use Web-based tool that allows you to quickly and easily create RSS channels for the Portal. The RSS Generator stores group and channel information in a DB2 database. After you create your RSS channel, the generator invokes the RSS parser to convert the channel to HTML.

The RSS Generator lets you create both simple and role-based channels for the Penn State Portal.

Simple Channels

• Simple channels contain your most up-to-date content.

Role-Based Channels

• Role-based channels are typically in a group.
• Roles are defined via LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol), our method for providing directory information, determine which channel to display.
• Role-based channels us a consistent naming convention. For example, CSUP01 through CSUP09. In this case, the CSUP01 naming convention identifies the channel as "Career Services, University Park, first semester".