RSS Resources

RSS stands for "Rich Site Summary", a standard for packing information about a web site into a small XML file. These files are at the core of many syndication efforts. By collecting and combining RSS files, it's possible to create applications or web sites that offer summary links into a much wider part of the web. I've been interested in RSS in conjunction with news and weblogs for a while. Here's a few resources that I've collected.

This is by no means an exhaustive list. I'd be happy to add anything else that fits - just email me.

Specifications

The flavors of RSS

My Netscape Network Quick Start Guide - Instructions on building your own RSS 0.91 file.

RSS 0.92 - Specification for UserLand's version of RSS.
RSS 1.0 - Specification with examples.
RSS 2.0 - The latest spec from UserLand

Desktop Aggregators

Applications that bring together RSS feeds on your own computer.

ActiveRefresh - Commercial (trail download, $23.95 purchase) aggregator with email and screen-scraping integration
Aggie - .NET-based desktop aggregator.
AmphetaDesk - Another desktop RSS aggregator
Beaver - Aggregator that can fetch source pages from feeds
BottomFeeder - Open source, cross-platform aggregator that handles RSS and OCS.
Composite - Simple .NET aggregator
FeedExpress - Aggregator that resembles Outlook Express in its UI
fn - Command-line tool for downloading and aggregating feeds on linux, might work on other platforms
FeedReader - Desktop RSS aggregator with taskbar notification.
Headline Viewer - An application that reads thousands of RSS feeds and allows you to quickly scan headlines from multiple sites.
HotSheet - Java 2 desktop aggregator
IE RSS Aggregator - Aggregator integrated into Internet Explorer
InfoSnorkel - Commercial (20-day trial, $39.95 purchase) aggregator that handles RSS feeds and pages without feeds.
NetNewsWire Lite - Freeware aggregator for Mac OS X
NewzCrawler - Customizable desktop aggregator with embedded browser
NewsGator - Aggregator that runs as an Outlook add-in
NewsHoard - Application to fetch RSS feeds on demand, rather than continuously. Also handles Usenet attachments.
NewsMonster - Browser-based aggregator for Mozilla
RDF-Ticker - Ticker-tape style display of feeds across the top of your desktop.
Risotto - Java-based RSS aggregator
RSS Bandit - .NET aggregator with a whole batch of features
RSS/RDF News Feed Reader - Sample code from an XML and ASP.NET book
SharpReader - .NET 3-pane RSS aggregator
Syndirella - Aggregator that can also scrape HTML pages to make custom feeds
Wildgrape Newsdesk - 3-panel aggregator that includes keyword filtering

Portable Aggregators

Applications that bring together RSS feeds on your portable device

Friday - Java/J2ME-based aggregator that works from the Syndic8 feed list
PocketFeed - Alpha PocketPC 2002 news aggregator that uses OPML

Website Aggregators

Applications that bring together RSS feeds on your own web site

Rippy the Aggregator - PHP-based system for aggregating feeds

Web-Based Aggregators

Web pages you can visit that pull together RSS feeds from other web pages.

fyuze - Aggregator with lots of customization options
Meerkat - A technology-oriented RSS syndicator from O'Reilly.
Moreover - Syndicator with many RSS feeds.
NewsIsFree - A "Personal Newsportal"
Snarf - RSS aggregator that runs in the IE Search pane

Syndic8 - Site collecting RSS feeds and evangelizing the use of RSS

xmlTree - Syndicator with many RSS feeds.

Other Aggregators

nntp//rss - Java-based bridge from RSS feeds to NNTP clients. Read RSS within your existing newsreader.

Information for Developers

Automatic Discovery of RSS Feeds - Standard for enabling aggregators to easily find feeds
Building a Desktop News Aggregator - MSDN article dissecting the design of RSS Bandit
Google2RSS - Convert a Google search to an RSS feed
How to Create an RSS Feed - Instructions for users of CityDesk
Informa - RSS library for Java
O'Reilly Network RSS DevCenter - Excellent portal for RSS information
Outlook2RSS - Convert Outlook/Exchange folders to RSS feeds
Parsing RSS At All Costs - Mark Pilgrim on how tool-makers can deal with bad XML in RSS feeds
rss-dev - Mailing list for the RSS Working Group
RSSLibrary - Framework for building .NET applications to consume RSS
RSSmanip - ASP scripts to convert RSS to HTML, HDML or WML.
RSS Readers - Page on the Abbe Normal wiki, with lots of info - probably more up-to-date than my own list
RSS Versions - Comparison chart from the RSS.NET project
RSS Workshop - Excellent tutorial on creating and using RSS feeds, with lots of links
Syndicate Your Page - Turn your web page into an RSS feed
What is RSS? - Essay from Mark Pilgrim discussing the varieties of RSS and coding to support multiple versions

Miscellaneous RSS Tools

cvs2rss - Turn CVS commits into an RSS feed
Python Desktop Server - News aggregator & weblog builder all in one

RSS2RDF - Online conversion tool to take RSS 0.9 or RSS 0.91 files and turn them into RSS 1.0.

RSS.NET - .NET library to parse RSS feeds and return simple objects
Feedster - RSS search engine, originally known as "Roogle"
RSS Tools - Listing of useful tools from Blogspace.
RSS Validator - Online validation for RSS feeds through 1.0
RSS Validator - Online validation for RSS feeds through 2.0