RSS - Really Simple Syndication
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and is a method for distributing headlines and notifications without the need to create (or maintain) subscription lists.
What makes RSS so powerful is that it allows a user to monitor a site for changes or news without having to refresh a web page. Even better, most RSS applications can monitor multiple RSS feeds at the same time, saving time (and bandwidth).
What Is RSS?
An RSS feed is simply an XML document containing one or more items, each with a title (or headline), an optional summary, and a link to the full item (normally a web page).
Feeds normally document the newest updates to a website, such as page changes, news headlines, or product releases; feeds can also be used to publish other list-type data, such as the top-ten movies or items for sale.
A website can publish a single RSS feed covering the entire site, or multiple feeds covering different products or areas of interest.
Sites that publish RSS feeds normally display an appropriate symbol, such as .
How Does It Work?
A website publishes one or more RSS feeds with that site's latest news and information. The end-user uses an application called an RSS reader (also called a feed reader or aggregator) which periodically checks each RSS feed of interest for new items, which are displayed to the user.
A simple RSS reader will display a feed's items and allow the user to click on an item to see the full article. More sophisticated readers can manipulate the subscribed feeds, for example to highlight items containing keywords, or to display multiple feeds in a user-friendly "newspaper"-like format.
A good RSS reader enables the user to monitor multiple websites efficiently, easing the problem of "information overload".
King Stairs Software Feeds
King Stairs Software publishes a general RSS feed for our customers:
![[RSS]](/pix/rss.png){kind=small}
See Also
RSS resources for the end-user: