RSS-Data/XML-Data

Thursday 02 October 2003 at 20:44

Jeremy Allaire has stirred up some buzz. There's one point about this RSS-Data I don't think has been made.

There's all sorts of hype and excitement about other applications for RSS, but what we have right now is mostly vaporware. The blogsphere certainly proves the utility of RSS, but other applications are at most speculative. Introducing a low-threshold format for publish-subscribe exchanges of objects could be just the ticket to get some real application development rolling. As real applications appear and crystalize, then schemas can be formalized for those applications.

If you haven't already been following the discussion here's what I've read:

Les' examples are good for discussion. On the surface it looks like solid argument against Jeremy's suggestion. But despite the verbosity, I think the ability to get on with the applications is the important part. I think Jeremy's idea will grease those wheels.

Roger Benningfield commented

02 October 2003 at 23:19

Eric: "As real applications appear and crystalize, then schemas can be formalized for those applications."

*Exactly*. RSS-Data can serve as "training wheels" for new extensions.

Got a new or unusual chunk of data you want to expose to the world? Wrap it up as RSS-Data and get it out there where people can immediately see it and play with it in their RSS-Data-aware aggregators. If it turns out that you're on to something, interested parties can sit down and start crafting a formal specification, and once the aggregators starting implementing the new spec, you do away with the RSS-Data wrapper and move on.

thinair

Boulder, Colorado

elevation 5400 feet

your guide: Eric Dobbs

RSS-Data/XML-Data

Roger Benningfield commented