How to Create an RSS Feed With Notepad, a Web Server

RSS-Rich Site Summary

 <rss version="0.91">


 <channel>
 <title>OLDaily</title>
 <link>http://www.downes.ca/news/OLDaily.htm</link>
 <description>OLDaily - By Stephen Downes </description>
 <language>en-us</language>


 <image>
 <title>Stephen's Web</title>
 <url>http://www.downes.ca/images/rss.gif</url>
 <link>http://www.downes.ca</link>
 <width>90</width>
 <height>36</height>
 </image>


<item>
 <title>Attack Update</title>
 <link>http://www.downes.ca</link>
 <description>
 OK, here's where we stand. I have no email into
or out of downes.ca - this means that if you are sending me
email to stephen@downes.ca it will fail. It also means that
newsletter mailouts are failing (at least, I think they're
failing...). Additionally, all scheduled processes have
terminated, which means that Edu_RSS will be updated
manually. I have no tech support until at least tomorrow,
so it looks like we'll be limping along like this for a
bit. Again, please note, email sent to me at downes.ca is
not reaching me. By Stephen Downes, Stephen's Web, July
22, 2003
 </description>
 </item>
 <item>
 <title>Attack on Downes.ca</title>
 <link>http://www.downes.ca</link>
 <description>
 Downes.ca was off the air for a few days
following a denial of service attack. We are back for now
but things are still touch and go. I'll keep you posted. 
By Stephen Downes, July 21, 2003
 </description>
 </item>
 </channel>
 </rss>

Now we come to the trickiest part of creating an RSS file.

An RSS file is an XML file. Some characters are illegal in XML. So you have to 'escape' them, that is, insert a text string in their place. Here is the list I use (not all of these are strictly required, but using this full list ensures maximum safety).

& - replace all instances of '&' with the following: &amp; - Don't forget the URL! Many URLs have ampersands in them. - If a link element is http://www.mysite.com/index.cgi?n=4&p=5 then you must change it to http://www.mysite.com/index.cgi?n=4&amp;p=5
" - change every full quote to &quot; - For example: He shouted, "Fire!" becomes, He shouted, &quot;Fire!&quot;
' - change every apostraphe to &apos; - For example: It's his bike. becomes It&apos;s his bike.
> - change every 'greater than' character to &gt; - but DO NOT change them in the tags. - For example, <description> am > three feet tall</description> becomes <description>I am &gt; three feet tall</description>
< - change every 'less than' character tag to &lt; - but DO NOT change them in the tags - For example: "<description>I have < five dollars</description> becomes <description>I had &lt; five dollars</description>
Upload your file to your web server. It is best to put it in the same directory as your home page, though you could place it anywhere you want.