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   <a href="http://e-articles.info/e/a/title/What-are-Feeds-~-RSS-and-ATOM-Feed-Specifications/">What are Feeds ~ RSS and ATOM Feed Specifications</a>
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1. Why Do You Need to Produce Feeds
Feeds have several advantages, primarily related to consumption, over traditional HTML formats. Many desktop applications are devoted to reading feeds at regular intervals, and many of the new batch of web browsers include features for reading feeds. These free the user from manually checking various sources (websites) for new information. Instead, the automated tool checks the subscribed feeds every few minutes and presents them to the user (usually organized in a user-configurable manner). The standard and predictable format makes this a m...

2. How REST Works
Generally speaking, a REST request will involve sending a request to a special URL (similar to what you would see after filling out a form using the GET method), then receiving an XML document containing the server's response. The XML response is then parsed, and the desired information is extracted and acted upon. Each REST request generally has several common elements: Endpoint URL — The full address for the desired script. A REST service might have only a single script that handles all request type...

3. How to implement the REST technology
There are two sides to this tale, the first is how to generate legitimate REST requests, and the second is how to handle the responses correctly. Generating Requests When it comes to generating the request, you have three main options. First, you can generate the request manually, using PHP's header functions. This gives you complete flexibility in generating the request, but does involve the most coding. Second, you can use one of PHP's built-in request functions such as file_get_contents() or file()/fopen(), fread(...

4. Important Considerations When Using Feeds
XML feeds provide a great resource of information, but their use is not without its own special considerations. Security and legal concerns go hand in hand whether you are producing or consuming feeds. Consider if you will the implications of going away for the weekend, only to discover that your aggregator has been attacked, your site is now displaying wildly inaccurate information provided by the attacker, and your legal department is fielding not-so-nice phone calls regarding the current content of your homepage. Also consider how often...

5. Advantages and Disadvantages of Client Side Certificates
The API server can generate a certificate and provide it to the client via a secure channel before any requests are made. This certificate is then used in the authentication process; this confirms the identity of both the client and server before requests are made. Although this method provides the greatest level of security (barring a dedicated VPN connection, which won't be covered here), it also has the most strenuous requirements on both sides: not all modules (say, NuSOAP) can handle client-side certificates. Advantages:...

6. Introduction to Web APIs ~ REST vs SOAP
When interacting with web services, generally the choice of which method to use will be made for you. The majority of services operate in either REST or SOAP, not both (Amazon is a notable exception to this rule). When given the choice, however, there are several points to consider: Overhead — REST requests are relatively slim. SOAP requests, on the other hand, contain a lot of additional information, which can really add up. Transparency — With REST requests (even when completed ov...

7. Common API Performance Techniques
Websites are designed to be accessed by individuals, and as such tend to rely on the relatively slow speed of the user to avoid any performance bottlenecks. This technique fails miserably with APIs because they are going to be consumed by other servers with high-speed connections, often designed only with their own performance in mind (they won't cache your responses for you, and will instead make exactly the same request time and time again). Designing your API with performance in mind can help keep the server fast even when many req...

8. Developing a Datafeed Strategy
What’s the best way to get started with your datafeed marketing? Have a datafeed party! What’s a datafeed party? As first reported in eBay Motors, a datafeed party does not refer to a party with vodka on the rocks, Sushi snacks, and square-dancing music. It refers to the process of sitting down and researching how many places you can send data feeds to sell in new marketplaces. So, have yourself a datafeed party and see how many new marketplaces you can find to sell your [items] with little additional effort. Sinc...