BellaOnline Forums Computers HTML Dumb question about updating RSS

I've just put together a very basic .xml file on my website to use as my RSS feed.

My dumb question is Do I have to manually keep updating this file everytime I add something to my website, or are RSS readers set up to determine that something has been added to the page referred to by a link in a particular RSS file?

There's probably a better way to do this, isn't there? <img src="/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

When someone has their RSS reader setup to check your site for updates, the RSS reader finds your .xml file and displays the information in that file in the reader.

You can automatically update your .xml file by using a small PHP script and a database. For example, each time you post a new article here at BellaOnline, that info is automatically entered into our database. You would need to have this same type of database setup on your website. Then a small program on the server will check the database and generate an .xml file that lists the most recent articles posted on your site.

If you don't have a database system setup like we have here, than you would need to setup one. Then from that point on you could use a small PHP script to generat the .xml file for you.

Another alternative is to use Blogger or some other blog system. The database and scripts all already setup to automatically update when you add a new post in your blog.

If you want to give it a try on your own website, I would be glad to help you setup the database and scripts. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Another option is to add some special code to your webpages when you write them. Then use a script like this one. It reads the special code from your webpage and generates an RSS feed.

http://www.xmlhub.com/rssgenr8.php

Diane - thanks so much. That link looks really good.

I'm keen to understand RSS better, so I'll definitely take up your offer to learn how to do a database and PHP script. I know nothing about PHP though - should I start off on your PHP site first, or can I just jump in the deep end?

I'm like a dog with a bone about this kind of stuff! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I'm a big fan of "learn by doing". So, try a little of both. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Oh my goodness. Suddenly little lightbulbs are going off - so that's why my web hosting control panel has a button called "MySQL"! Damn, and I was convinced SQL was shorthand for "squirrel". <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Diane I'm still in awe of how organised your sites are. You make it so easy.

Okay - back to learning... <img src="/images/graemlins/fish.gif" alt="" />

Elle, thanks for the compliment!