Level: Intermediate Jonathan Levin , Trainer and consultant, Freelance
18 Dec 2007 This tutorial presents an innovative use of the well-known Really Simple Syndication (RSS) format's associative properties to emulate the functionality of a simple relational database. It demonstrates using RSS channels to store contact information and meeting information—much as a personal address book and calendar does. It uses RSS elements and attributes such as items and guids to create a neural-network-like mesh of related data.
In this tutorial
This tutorial is intended for people who want to better understand the well-known Really Simple Syndication
(RSS) format and what it can do. Specifically, it shows how to leverage some of the lesser-known features of
RSS to provide better data storage. This tutorial assumes that you understand the basic concepts of XML, but familiarity with RSS is not required.
Programming examples use PHP, but the basic concepts apply for any programming language. Many people know that RSS is the format used for most syndication purposes, such as site feeds, but in the
past few years it's also become the storage format of choice for other applications, such as data distribution,
contact management, and other purposes. By storing data as RSS, you make it possible to
use RSS aggregators and readers to access that data. All of this leads to the notion of using RSS to store information that previously might be stored in
a relational database.
Objectives - Review the RSS format and some actual feed samples.
- Redefine classic RSS format for an alternative purpose: storing arbitrary data items and
their associations.
- Define your database format with three tables, query them, and provide an associative lookup.
- Handle the query results, leave them in XML form or transform them to user-presentable content using XML StyleSheet Transformation Language (XSLT).
Prerequisites
You'll need the following tools to follow along with this tutorial:
-
PHP: Any version of PHP will do
nicely. This tutorial uses PHP's
back-end textual processing rather than the traditional Document Object Model (DOM) to process the XML.
- Your favorite XML editor is required to edit XML and XSLT files. The author uses
vim on UNIX®, and Notepad on Windows®.
System requirements
You will need JavaScript enabled in your browser. All functionality is available online.
Duration
2 hours
Formats html, pdf
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