Zend_Feed enables developers to retrieve feeds very easily. If you know the URI of a feed, simply
use the Zend_Feed::import() method:
<?php
$feed = Zend_Feed::import('http://feeds.example.com/feedName');
You can also use Zend_Feed to fetch the contents of a feed from a file or the contents of a PHP
string variable:
<?php
// importing a feed from a text file
$feedFromFile = Zend_Feed::importFile('feed.xml');
// importing a feed from a PHP string variable
$feedFromPHP = Zend_Feed::importString($feedString);
In each of the examples above, an object of a class that extends Zend_Feed_Abstract is returned
upon success, depending on the type of the feed. If an RSS feed were retrieved via one of the import methods
above, then a Zend_Feed_Rss object would be returned. On the other hand, if an Atom feed were
imported, then a Zend_Feed_Atom object is returned. The import methods will also throw a
Zend_Feed_Exception object upon failure, such as an unreadable or malformed feed.
Zend_Feed enables developers to create custom feeds very easily. You just have to create an
array and to import it with Zend_Feed. This array can be imported with Zend_Feed::importArray()
or with Zend_Feed::importBuilder(). In this last case the array will be computed on the fly by
a custom data source implementing Zend_Feed_Builder_Interface.
<?php // importing a feed from an array $atomFeedFromArray = Zend_Feed::importArray($array); // the following line is equivalent to the above; by default a Zend_Feed_Atom instance is returned $atomFeedFromArray = Zend_Feed::importArray($array, 'atom'); // importing a rss feed from an array $rssFeedFromArray = Zend_Feed::importArray($array, 'rss');
The format of the array must conform to this structure:
<?php
array(
'title' => 'title of the feed', //required
'link' => 'canonical url to the feed', //required
'lastUpdate' => 'timestamp of the update date', // optional
'published' => 'timestamp of the publication date', //optional
'charset' => 'charset of the textual data', // required
'description' => 'short description of the feed', //optional
'author' => 'author/publisher of the feed', //optional
'email' => 'email of the author', //optional
'webmaster' => 'email address for person responsible for technical issues' // optional, ignored if atom is used
'copyright' => 'copyright notice', //optional
'image' => 'url to image', //optional
'generator' => 'generator', // optional
'language' => 'language the feed is written in', // optional
'ttl' => 'how long in minutes a feed can be cached before refreshing', // optional, ignored if atom is used
'rating' => 'The PICS rating for the channel.', // optional, ignored if atom is used
'cloud' => array(
'domain' => 'domain of the cloud, e.g. rpc.sys.com' // required
'port' => 'port to connect to' // optional, default to 80
'path' => 'path of the cloud, e.g. /RPC2' //required
'registerProcedure' => 'procedure to call, e.g. myCloud.rssPleaseNotify' // required
'protocol' => 'protocol to use, e.g. soap or xml-rpc' // required
), // a cloud to be notified of updates // optional, ignored if atom is used
'textInput' => array(
'title' => 'the label of the Submit button in the text input area' // required,
'description' => 'explains the text input area' // required
'name' => 'the name of the text object in the text input area' // required
'link' => 'the URL of the CGI script that processes text input requests' // required
) // a text input box that can be displayed with the feed // optional, ignored if atom is used
'skipHours' => array(
'hour in 24 format', // e.g 13 (1pm)
// up to 24 rows whose value is a number between 0 and 23
) // Hint telling aggregators which hours they can skip // optional, ignored if atom is used
'skipDays ' => array(
'a day to skip', // e.g Monday
// up to 7 rows whose value is a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday
) // Hint telling aggregators which days they can skip // optional, ignored if atom is used
'itunes' => array(
'author' => 'Artist column' // optional, default to the main author value
'owner' => array(
'name' => 'name of the owner' // optional, default to main author value
'email' => 'email of the owner' // optional, default to main email value
) // Owner of the podcast // optional
'image' => 'album/podcast art' // optional, default to the main image value
'subtitle' => 'short description' // optional, default to the main description value
'summary' => 'longer description' // optional, default to the main description value
'block' => 'Prevent an episode from appearing (yes|no)' // optional
'category' => array(
array('main' => 'main category', // required
'sub' => 'sub category' // optional
),
// up to 3 rows
) // 'Category column and in iTunes Music Store Browse' // required
'explicit' => 'parental advisory graphic (yes|no|clean)' // optional
'keywords' => 'a comma separated list of 12 keywords maximum' // optional
'new-feed-url' => 'used to inform iTunes of new feed URL location' // optional
) // Itunes extension data // optional, ignored if atom is used
'entries' => array(
array(
'title' => 'title of the feed entry', //required
'link' => 'url to a feed entry', //required
'description' => 'short version of a feed entry', // only text, no html, required
'guid' => 'id of the article, if not given link value will used', //optional
'content' => 'long version', // can contain html, optional
'lastUpdate' => 'timestamp of the publication date', // optional
'comments' => 'comments page of the feed entry', // optional
'commentRss' => 'the feed url of the associated comments', // optional
'source' => array(
'title' => 'title of the original source' // required,
'url' => 'url of the original source' // required
) // original source of the feed entry // optional
'category' => array(
array(
'term' => 'first category label' // required,
'scheme' => 'url that identifies a categorization scheme' // optional
),
array(
//data for the second category and so on
)
) // list of the attached categories // optional
'enclosure' => array(
array(
'url' => 'url of the linked enclosure' // required
'type' => 'mime type of the enclosure' // optional
'length' => 'length of the linked content in octets' // optional
),
array(
//data for the second enclosure and so on
)
) // list of the enclosures of the feed entry // optional
),
array(
//data for the second entry and so on
)
)
);
References:
RSS 2.0 specification: RSS 2.0
Atom specification: RFC 4287
WFW specification: Well Formed Web
iTunes specification: iTunes Technical Specifications
You can create a Zeed_Feed instance from any data source implementing
Zend_Feed_Builder_Interface. You just have to implement the getHeader() and
getEntries() methods to be able to use your object with
Zend_Feed::importBuilder(). As a simple reference implementation, you can use
Zend_Feed_Builder, which takes an array in its constructor, performs some minor validation,
and then can be used in the importBuilder() method. The getHeader() method
must return an instance of Zend_Feed_Builder_Header, and getEntries() must
return an array of Zend_Feed_Builder_Entry instances.
![[Note]](images/note.png) |
Note |
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Here is an example of Zend_Feed::importBuilder() usage:
<?php // importing a feed from a custom builder source $atomFeedFromArray = Zend_Feed::importBuilder(new Zend_Feed_Builder($array)); // the following line is equivalent to the above; by default a Zend_Feed_Atom instance is returned $atomFeedFromArray = Zend_Feed::importArray(new Zend_Feed_Builder($array), 'atom'); // importing a rss feed from a custom builder array $rssFeedFromArray = Zend_Feed::importArray(new Zend_Feed_Builder($array), 'rss');
To dump the contents of a Zend_Feed_Abstract instance, you may use send() or
saveXml() methods.
<?php assert($feed instanceof Zend_Feed_Abstract); // dump the feed to standard output print $feed->saveXML(); // send http headers and dump the feed $feed->send();