XML feeds: Difference between revisions From Online Manual

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All of the XML content is accessed via the ".xml" action...
All of the XML content is accessed via the ".xml" action...
Other formats can be achieved by adding one of the following to the URL:
Other formats can be achieved by adding one of the following to the URL:
;type=atom - [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_(standard)]Atom[/url]
*'''type=atom''' - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atom_(standard) Atom]
;type=rdf - [url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_Description_Framework]RDF[/url]
*'''type=rdf''' - [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resource_Description_Framework RDF]
;type=rss - RSS 0.91
*'''type=rss''' - RSS 0.91
;type=rss2 - RSS 2.0
*'''type=rss2''' - RSS 2.0


The default feed is the 5 most recent posts:
The default feed is the 5 most recent posts:
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There are several "sub-actions" available to this action, specifying exactly what to display:
There are several "sub-actions" available to this action, specifying exactly what to display:


[b]Recent Posts[/b] (displays the most recent posts that you can see)
====Recent Posts====
"Sub-action": recent
Displays the most recent posts that you can see:
Default: Shows 5 most recent posts
*'''Sub-action''': recent
Available options:
*'''Default''': Shows 5 most recent posts
limit=x - display the "x" most recent posts (if number is less than 5, it will display 5. If number is larger than 255, it will display 255).
*'''Available options''':
board=y - display only the recent posts from board "y"
**'''limit=x''' - display the "x" most recent posts (if number is less than 5, it will display 5. If number is larger than 255, it will display 255).
boards=x,y,z - display only the recent posts from the specified boards
**'''board=y''' - display only the recent posts from board "y"
c=x or c=x,y,z - display only the recent posts from boards in the specified category/categories
**'''boards=x,y,z''' - display only the recent posts from the specified boards
Example: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=recent;board=72;limit=10
**'''c=x or c=x,y,z''' - display only the recent posts from boards in the specified category/categories
*'''Example''': <nowiki>http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=recent;board=72;limit=10</nowiki>


[b]News[/b] (displays the first post from the most recent topics that you can see)
====News====
"Sub-action": news
Displays the first post from the most recent topics that you can see:
Available options:
*'''Sub-action''': news
limit=x - display only "x" items
*'''Available options''':
board=y - display only news topics from board "y"
**'''limit=x''' - display only "x" items
boards=x,y,z - display only news topics from the specified boards
**'''board=y''' - display only news topics from board "y"
c=x or c=x,y,z - display only news topics from boards in the specified category/categories
**'''boards=x,y,z''' - display only news topics from the specified boards
Example: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=news;board=72;limit=10
**'''c=x or c=x,y,z''' - display only news topics from boards in the specified category/categories
*'''Example''': <nowiki>http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=news;board=72;limit=10</nowiki>


[b]Members[/b] (displays most recent members):
====Members====
"Sub-action": members
Displays most recent members:
Available options:
*'''Sub-action''': members
limit=x - display only the "x" most recent members
*'''Available options''':
Example: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=members;limit=10
**'''limit=x''' - display only the "x" most recent members
*'''Example''': <nowiki>http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=members;limit=10</nowiki>


[b]Profile[/b] (displays the "profile summary" data in a nice XML feed for the specified user)
====Profile====
"Sub-action": profile
Displays the "profile summary" data in a nice XML feed for the specified user:
Required option:
*'''Sub-action''': profile
u=x - display the profile info for user whose ID is "x"
*'''Required option''':
Example: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=profile;u=150
**'''u=x''' - display the profile info for user whose ID is "x"
*'''Example''': <nowiki>http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=profile;u=150</nowiki>


Now - you're probably wondering what you can do with this. Quite a bit actually.
Now - you're probably wondering what you can do with this. Quite a bit actually.
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You can also subscribe to these feeds through an XML reader, Firefox, Thunderbird or any other software that supports XML or RSS feeds (note - Outlook and Outlook Express do not support this...) - you will need to have either "type=rss" or "type=rss2" somewhere in the URL for it to work. If you would like to know how to set this up in Firefox or Thunderbird, let me know. Enjoy!
You can also subscribe to these feeds through an XML reader, Firefox, Thunderbird or any other software that supports XML or RSS feeds (note - Outlook and Outlook Express do not support this...) - you will need to have either "type=rss" or "type=rss2" somewhere in the URL for it to work. If you would like to know how to set this up in Firefox or Thunderbird, let me know. Enjoy!
----


EDIT: Updated post to reflect options available in 1.1.
EDIT: Updated post to reflect options available in 1.1.
EDIT again: Fixed typo (";type=rss - RSS 2.0" -> ";type=rss2 - RSS 2.0" - thanks to [url=http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=profile;u=48405]Sarge[/url] for pointing that out)
EDIT again: Fixed typo (";type=rss - RSS 2.0" -> ";type=rss2 - RSS 2.0" - thanks to [http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=profile;u=48405 Sarge] for pointing that out)


Need to add EDIT: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=25009.msg3087967#msg3087967
Need to add EDIT: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=25009.msg3087967#msg3087967
[[category:FAQ]]

Revision as of 22:16, 11 September 2011

One of the best features in SMF is its news feeds. However, many people aren't aware of how many options there are, or that this is even available. So, here's a list of available options and what they do...

First, make sure you've enabled the feeds:

Admin -> News and Newsletters -> Settings Check the box next to "Enable XML/RSS News". The "Maximum post length" value determines how many characters of a post are output in the feeds. The default value (255) is fine for now


Now, on to the fun stuff.

All of the XML content is accessed via the ".xml" action... Other formats can be achieved by adding one of the following to the URL:

  • type=atom - Atom
  • type=rdf - RDF
  • type=rss - RSS 0.91
  • type=rss2 - RSS 2.0

The default feed is the 5 most recent posts: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml

There are several "sub-actions" available to this action, specifying exactly what to display:

Recent Posts

Displays the most recent posts that you can see:

  • Sub-action: recent
  • Default: Shows 5 most recent posts
  • Available options:
    • limit=x - display the "x" most recent posts (if number is less than 5, it will display 5. If number is larger than 255, it will display 255).
    • board=y - display only the recent posts from board "y"
    • boards=x,y,z - display only the recent posts from the specified boards
    • c=x or c=x,y,z - display only the recent posts from boards in the specified category/categories
  • Example: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=recent;board=72;limit=10

News

Displays the first post from the most recent topics that you can see:

  • Sub-action: news
  • Available options:
    • limit=x - display only "x" items
    • board=y - display only news topics from board "y"
    • boards=x,y,z - display only news topics from the specified boards
    • c=x or c=x,y,z - display only news topics from boards in the specified category/categories
  • Example: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=news;board=72;limit=10

Members

Displays most recent members:

  • Sub-action: members
  • Available options:
    • limit=x - display only the "x" most recent members
  • Example: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=members;limit=10

Profile

Displays the "profile summary" data in a nice XML feed for the specified user:

  • Sub-action: profile
  • Required option:
    • u=x - display the profile info for user whose ID is "x"
  • Example: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?action=.xml;sa=profile;u=150

Now - you're probably wondering what you can do with this. Quite a bit actually.

You can syndicate this stuff by giving people these URLs to use on their sites (they will need to have their own RSS parser to deal with it though - CaRP is a good free one (requires PHP)). You can also use PHP's XML Parser Functions to format the output the way you want it (although you can also do this using SSI.php). There are also several free sites that will parse the feeds for you, including www.rss2javascript.com and www.feedburner.com.

You can also subscribe to these feeds through an XML reader, Firefox, Thunderbird or any other software that supports XML or RSS feeds (note - Outlook and Outlook Express do not support this...) - you will need to have either "type=rss" or "type=rss2" somewhere in the URL for it to work. If you would like to know how to set this up in Firefox or Thunderbird, let me know. Enjoy!



EDIT: Updated post to reflect options available in 1.1. EDIT again: Fixed typo (";type=rss - RSS 2.0" -> ";type=rss2 - RSS 2.0" - thanks to Sarge for pointing that out)

Need to add EDIT: http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=25009.msg3087967#msg3087967



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