Pro RSS Feed Maker
Pro RSS Feed Maker: turn editorial records into a portable feed
A feed maker is a publishing process that transforms editorial records into a subscription output. Define the content policy first, then map the records into RSS or Atom. A small generator with explicit rules can keep article pages and feed entries consistent through ordinary revisions.
Choose what belongs in the feed
Write a selection rule that an editor can apply. A journal might publish approved articles, while a documentation project might publish release notes and substantial new guides. Keep drafts and future releases outside the public output. Choose a history window that suits the publication's rhythm without making subscribers download an unnecessarily large archive.
Decide whether entries contain full content, summaries, or a clearly described combination. A summary should help readers decide whether to continue; full content should remain understandable in another application's typography. Keep those choices in content metadata so the generator preserves editorial intent instead of deriving a policy from whatever HTML happens to be present.
Map a small record deliberately
Start with an immutable article identifier, title, canonical path, publication date, summary, and body. Store meaningful revisions separately. Resolve public paths through one configured origin, then serialize with an XML-aware library. A renamed headline should not create a new identity, and a routine deployment should not make every article appear newly published.
- Select records that satisfy the documented publication and syndication rules.
- Sort them predictably, using a stable secondary key when dates are equal.
- Transform approved records into the fields required by the chosen feed format.
- Prepare portable content, resolve article and image addresses, and serialize the XML.
- Validate the result before adding it to the public release package.
Preserve the article's useful structure
Export article content without the surrounding website header, menus, or footer. Retain headings, paragraphs, lists, meaningful images, captions, and readable code. Explain any essential interactive demonstration and provide a descriptive path to it. Test a nested article address and an image reference so relative URL assumptions become visible before deployment.
Prove the ordinary edit cycle
Use a hypothetical three-item publication as a working example. Publish a short announcement and a longer illustrated guide, then add a third item. Confirm that a reader recognizes the new entry. Correct the first title and check that its identifier remains unchanged. Finally, validate the XML and compare its canonical links with the website. Keep this small exercise beside the build instructions so future changes can preserve the subscription's behavior without reconstructing the project's assumptions.
Primary documentation
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