Current is&t Issue

Volume 20

No. 4  March/April 2005

Publish Dynamic Content on Your Web Site with RSS

• Sean Brown

Information Services and Technology (IS&T) has just launched a service that enables web publishers to include Really Simple Syndication (RSS) content in web pages hosted on web.mit.edu. It provides an easy way for MIT web publishers to add content to their pages that updates dynamically. The RSS Service works for both personal and organizational pages stored in Athena lockers.

From Static to Dynamic
Most web pages at MIT are written in HTML, which is essentially a static format. Changing the content of a web page normally requires manual effort using a tool like Macromedia Dreamweaver. When RSS is incorporated into HTML, web pages automatically display content changes supplied by the news feed.

How the Service Works
The RSS service provided by IS&T is based on an open-source script called Feed2JS. The service provides a web form that lets you designate the news feed of your choice and configure various display options. Submitting this form generates a small amount of HTML and JavaScript code that you place into the source code of your web pages. Once the code is added, any changes to the content of the RSS news feed will be reflected within a few minutes on your web pages.

Using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), you can customize the output of the RSS service so that it blends in with the existing look and feel of your web site. You can also set a number of feed options, including

• The number of items to display

• Whether to display item descriptions

• Length of item descriptions to show

Collaborative Efforts
IS&T’s Web Communications Services (WCS) and Operations and Infrastructure Services (OIS) Teams have collaborated on the rollout of the RSS service. The project has involved customizing the Feed2JS script, running a test pilot, and setting up a server to host the service. Sites currently using the RSS service include the School of Engineering and IS&T (see Surf Sites in this issue for these URLs and others).

Learning More
If you are interested in learning more about using RSS at MIT, attend a free IS&T Quick Start class on RSS. This presentation covers RSS basics and shows what’s involved in setting up the RSS service for your web site.

Users of the RSS service are encouraged to subscribe to a low-volume email list where new features regarding the service will be announced. To join the list, send an email to <wcs-sysadmin@mit.edu>.

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