RSS Glossary

HTML

HTML is the common language for publishing hypertext on the worldwide web. It is a non-proprietary format based upon SGML, and can be created and processed by a wide range of tools. For more information, see www.w3.org/MarkUp.

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol is the main protocol used for communications between web servers and browsers.

NZGLS

NZGLS metadata standard is the official New Zealand Government standard for creating discovery-level metadata. The standard is based closely on two well-established standards: the Dublin Core (DC) Metadata Element Set and the Australian Government Locator Service (AGLS). For more information, see www.nzgls.govt.nz.

PHP

PHP: Hypertext Pre-processor is a scripting language that embeds instructions along with HTML in each page. When a user requests a given page, the web server will execute the instructions and send the results to the user’s browser. For more information, see www.php.net.

RDF

Resource Description Framework is a universal format for data on the web. Using a simple relational model, it allows structured and semi-structured data to be mixed, exported and shared across different applications. For more information, see www.w3.org/RDF.

RSS V1.0

RDF Site Summary (or Really Simple Syndication) is a lightweight multipurpose extensible metadata description and syndication format. RSS is an XML application that conforms to the W3C's RDF specification and is extensible via XML-namespace and/or RDF based modularisation.

RSS 0.9x and RSS V2.0

Rich Site Summary is the commonly used acronym for the non RDF/Dublin Core news-feed standard. RSS 0.9x refers to all iterations of RSS after RSS 0.91.

Syndication

Syndication normally refers to the distribution of articles and photographs to several newspapers or magazines for simultaneous or later publication.

URI

Uniform Resource Identifier, a character string used to identify a resource (such as a file) from anywhere on the Internet by type and location. The set of Uniform Resource Identifiers includes Uniform Resource Names (URNs) and Uniform Resource Locators (URLs).

URL and PURL

Uniform Resource Locator is the address of a resource or file available on the Internet. The URL contains the protocol of the resource (eg: http:// or ftp://), the domain name for the resource, and the hierarchical name for the file. If it is never likely to change it is called a Permanent Uniform Resource Locator (PURL).

XML

Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a simple, flexible text format derived from SGML. Originally designed to meet the challenges of large-scale electronic publishing, XML is also playing an increasingly important role in the exchange of data on the web and elsewhere. For more information, see www.w3.org/XML.

XML namespace (xmlns)

In general, a namespace uniquely identifies a set of names so there is no ambiguity when objects having different origins but the same names are mixed together. In XML, a namespace is commonly given the name of a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), such as a website's address, for two reasons: the namespace may be associated with the site or page of that URI (such as a company name) and because a URI is likely to be a unique name.