Re: RSS items order

> This is a major problem in my view in the RSS spec - it presents us
> with long and short term immediacy problems.

If you want sortability then simply include the sort of data that the reader
programs can use to handle it.  RSS feeds are, by and large, newsfeeds.  As
such they're usually time-sensitive.  Including timestamps is the single
best way to make sure client programs can get the latest and greatest.

XML itself does not provide guaranteed sort orders for items.  Nor does RDF;
although it does offer ways to do it (which are a little complex).

> In First Say, when that feed metadata is missing, I take the timestamp
> from the first item in the feed. It works if it is there,
> but it's not ideal, because RSS does not guarantee a cronological
> order of items.

Oh there's certainly merit to the idea that feeds not providing item
timestamps are deficient.  Some reader programs handle this by using the
HTTP timestamp.  Others use the timestamp of when the data was downloaded to
the client.  If you want better feeds, ask their publishers to add the data.

-Bill Kearney
Syndic8.com



 
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rss-dev/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    [email protected]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/