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What is RSS?
RSS is an XML-based format that helps find information and provides it quickly whenever it is updated.
What is it used for?
RSS helps you access regularly updated content in a website, so that you get to know the latest news immediately. It is a method of distributing links to content in a website, that is to say, it is a mechanism to syndicate contents.
What do you need to access RSS?
You need an RSS aggregator or reader. It is a program that can read RSS files, checking periodically for new items in the feeds you are subscribed to, which saves an enormous amount of time. Using feeds and aggregators you will get alerts and then you can decide whether you will visit the website/s whose contents you are interested in retrieving or not.
What types of aggregators can you use?
The are many RSS readers, but they all fall into one of the following three categories:
- Desktop aggregators: They bring together RSS feeds on your computer.
- Web-based aggregators: You do not need to set them up. Usually, you just log in and use them.
- Plugin aggregators: Web browsers or email clients like Firefox, Netscape, Opera or Thunderbird include this type of aggregators in their programs as an additional service.
Once you have an aggregator, you can select the RSS feeds or files you want to syndicate. To subscribe to RSS feeds, you have to copy the URL of the RSS file to your aggregator.