2006-12-17 01:56:31 · 1 answers · asked by createfashion 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Internet
RSS and Atom are formats for "syndicating" data. They're usually used for data that happens over time, like blog posts or automated reports. A data file in RSS or Atom format is referred to as a "feed". Programs, like Firefox with their "live bookmarks", RSS aggregators, and sites like bloglines.com download these files periodically and look for new entries. RSS is also the standard used for podcast subscriptions.
In short, I subscribe to over 100 RSS feeds so I can be notified of the latest posts in my friends blogs, the latest tech news, and the latest events going on in the local goth community -- all from one site (bloglines).
RSS was created by Netscape in 1999, and there are three versions in use. But there are more versions out there than that, and there may be a site or two out there using some of them I guess. The versions are pretty much incompatible, and were created by different groups each wanting to create the "next" version.
Atom, on the other hand, is designed by a single group and is designed to be compatible across versions.
2006-12-17 02:36:14 · answer #1 · answered by watsonc64 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋