RSS <channel>Element

The <channel> element of RSS can describe an RSS feed.

RSS <channel> Element

See the following RSS document:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<rss version="2.0">
 
<channel>
  <title>Example首页</title>
  <link>http://www.example.com</link>
  <description>免费编程教程</description>
  <item>
    <title>RSS 教程</title>
    <link>http://www.example.com/rss</link>
    <description>Example Rss 教程</description>
  </item>
</channel>
 
</rss>

As mentioned earlier, the <channel> element can describe an RSS feed, and it has three required child elements:

  • <title> - defines the title of the channel. (For example, Example Homepage)
  • <link> - defines the hyperlink to the channel. (For example, http://www.example.com)
  • <description> - describes the channel (for example, Free Programming Tutorials)

<channel> usually contains one or more <item> elements. Each <item> element can define an article or "story" in the RSS feed.

In addition, there are several optional child elements of <channel>. We will explain the most important ones later.

<category> Element

The <category> child element is used to specify a category for the feed.

The <category> child element makes it possible for RSS aggregators to group websites by category.

The category of the above RSS document might be:

<category>Web 开发</category>

<copyright> Element

The <copyright> child element provides information about copyright.

The copyright of the above RSS document might be:

<copyright>2006 Refsnes Data as. All rights reserved.</copyright>

<image> Element

The <image> child element can display an image when the aggregator presents a feed.

<image> has three required child elements:

  • <url> - defines the URL that references the image
  • <title> - defines the text displayed when the image cannot be shown
  • <link> - defines the hyperlink to the website that provides the channel

The image of the above RSS document might look like this:

<image>
  <url>http://www.example.com/images/logo.png</url>
  <title>Example</title>
  <link>http://www.example.com</link>
</image>

<language> Element

The <language> child element is used to specify the language used to write the document.

The <language> element makes it possible for RSS aggregators to group websites based on language.

The language of the above RSS document might be:

<language>zh-cn</language>

RSS <channel> Reference Manual

Element Description
<category> Optional. Defines one or more categories for the feed.
<cloud> Optional. Registers a process to receive immediate notification of feed updates.
<copyright> Optional. Provides copyright information.
<description> Required. Describes the channel.
<docs> Optional. Specifies the URL pointing to the documentation for the format used in the current RSS file.
<generator> Optional. Specifies the program used to generate the feed.
<image> Optional. Displays an image when an aggregator presents a feed.
<language> Optional. Specifies the language used to write the feed.
<lastBuildDate> Optional. Defines the last modified date of the feed content.
<link> Required. Defines the hyperlink to the channel.
<managingEditor> Optional. Defines the email address of the editor of the feed content.
<pubDate> Optional. Defines the last publication date for the feed's content.
<rating> Optional. PICS rating of the feed.
<skipDays> Optional. Specifies days on which feed updates are ignored.
<skipHours> Optional. Specifies hours on which feed updates are ignored.
<textInput> Optional. Specifies a text input field that should be displayed with the feed.
<title> Required. Defines the title of the channel.
<ttl> Optional. Specifies the number of minutes the feed can be cached before it is updated from the feed source.
<webMaster> Optional. Defines the email address of the web administrator of this feed.
Other Extensions