RSS & NewsML decision

[damjanu]

Hi

I am looking into RSS & NewsML formats to figure out
which one I should use (if at all).

My entities are news now, but could be anything else
very soon.

My considerations are following:

1. I wish to be able to identify one entity/news
(so all the text, all the pics, all the sound
clips that belong to it) and package it as one 'file'

2. I need to mark my text in the way so that it enables
me to heave title, headline, search results.....
I also need to identify arrival of my entity/news

3. finally I need to sent this one entity/news over HTTP

I've read some of specs and samples, but variaty is
huge and confusing.

So if anyone has time and knowledge to comment or give
me any suggestions/pointers/hints, I would really be
thankfull.

Cheers,
Damjan

 

[Andy Dingley]

I am looking into RSS & NewsML formats to figure out
which one I should use (if at all).

RSS 1.0
Offer a transcode into RSS 0.92 for legacy readers.

Avoid RSS 2.0

NewsML is obsolete, lumpy, restricted in features and isn't widely
used. I've never seen a truly _valid_ NewsML feed, even from Reuters.


RSS 1.0 uses the RDF data model and has modularity as a key goal, so
it's by far the best choice for application-specific uses.

RSS 2.0 is some half-baked fir of pique by DW, just because other
people didn't like his old standard. However it's not a good standard,
and it's not a good protocol description. RSS 0.9* (including 2.0) is
XML based and difficult to extend to application-specific needs. The
protocol document itself is poor, and is full of vague areas.

 

[damjanu]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

Let me just make 2 statements to verify my understanding.

RSS 1 looks to have very few defined options in it's core, and modules.
For whatever more I need, I could use namespaces to extend it's
specification ??

RSS 1 has url links, I can link the files on my local machine of
whatever kind ??

What bugs me about this is that to me NewsML and NITF looks huge and kind of
overwhelming (how could they not have what I need when they have everything!),
but on the other hand I might need some things that they already have, so
by extending RSS, I would have to re-create what they have.
Plus those specs seem to *specify* more of I need.
On the other hand list of people using them is so small!
And it is so huge, I'd use 10% of it....
And so on in circles,

Anyway thanks

Damjan