Analysis#
The sum of the interior angles of a triangle is 180 degrees, which is only true in Euclidean geometry.
The use of RSS is similar. It depends on whether it meets your own needs and is convenient, simple, and low-cost. It is determined to use RSS instead of Python crawlers or other methods. For this, let's assume a scenario.
For example, we really like to read the "Recommendations" section of the website sspai. To receive timely updates from this section, downloading the app may be the most convenient method. However, it feels like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. Previously, we downloaded the "Pengpai News" app to read headlines, downloaded "Weibo" to follow the updates of "People's Daily", and downloaded "ONE" to read literary works.
If we don't install the app, we can only occasionally open the browser to check for updates.
This is very inconvenient because I am only interested in the "Recommendations" section and don't need to open the entire website.
At this point, you may think, should I create a crawler to periodically fetch this webpage, extract only the data from the "Recommendations" section, and send it to my phone or email for push notifications?
Obviously, not everyone knows how to create a crawler, and the steps sound too complicated. In comparison, it is more cost-effective to simply open the webpage.
However, fortunately, this website specifically provides the data from the "Recommendations" section, which means we can skip the step of creating a crawler.
Websites usually provide files in XML or Atom format, which, when opened, contain a mixture of text and code. We don't need to read them directly. Instead, we can use a dedicated reader to read and reformat the data. This allows us to view articles without opening the webpage.
It is worth mentioning that since the reader only parses the data in the formatting file itself, there may be a need to redownload the file if the website content is updated. Therefore, websites generally provide a dynamically updated XML link. When the website content is updated, the content of the XML will also be updated. At this time, the reader can recognize and read the latest articles.
In summary, the entire process is as follows:
Website update -> XML content update -> Reader updates XML link -> Parse data, format, and push notifications
The technology used to implement these functions is RSS (Really Simple Syndication), also known as "简易信息聚合" in Chinese.
Prerequisites#
Need RSS subscription sources#
To use RSS, you need to find the XML link, also known as the feed. For example, the feed provided by sspai is https://sspai.com/feed.
Website has its own RSS subscription source#
For example, sspai provides https://sspai.com/feed. You can subscribe to it.
Website does not have its own RSS subscription source#
Creating a subscription source#
Search keywords:
feed43
feed43 tutorial
feed43 alternatives
RSSHub#
If I want to subscribe to a popular webpage like the Weibo account of People's Daily, there may already be a subscription source created by others that I can directly use.
RSS feed for People's Daily Weibo: https://rsshub.app/weibo/user/2803301701/readable=true
In this case, can users who are capable of creating subscription sources share these sources?
RSSHub is such a project.
"Everything can be RSS"
If you can't access it, it may be a network issue.
The documentation mirror is available at https://rsshub.netlify.app/.
Search on Baidu for "Welcome to RSSHub!" to find mirror websites contributed by enthusiastic netizens.
To use it, simply replace the https://rsshub.app/ in the subscription source link with any of the mirror websites mentioned above.
Subscribing to WeChat Official Accounts#
There are hardly any stable solutions.
The best solution for reading WeChat articles may be to use WeChat Reading or QQ Mail.
RSS subscription source filtering#
You can filter the subscription sources or use a reader that supports filtering.
Need an RSS reader#
Next, you need to find an RSS reader that can subscribe to links and automatically update the subscription sources, such as https://www.inoreader.com/.
Alternatively, you can search on Baidu for:
Alternatives to Inoreader
Comparison of RSS readers
Best RSS reader software
My RSSHub Use Case#
RSS is convenient for reminding website content updates.
Let's take an example.
This website provides downloads for the pre-release cards of the Yu-Gi-Oh! trading card game, along with update logs.
Now I want to implement a feature: when there are new pre-release cards, I want to receive the download links and update logs.
I first wrote a simple route using RSSHub, which is the subscription source:
https://www.wodersshub.eu.org/ygo233/demo
Each time this link is accessed, an RSS file is generated for the current state of the website.
Then, I can use automation tools like IFTTT or Zapier to subscribe to the RSS and send it to my email.
Since I don't have an urgent need for updates, I use https://follow.it/ to subscribe to the RSS and check for updates once a day. If there are updates, they will be sent to my registered email.
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Registration
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Adding a subscription
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Filtering (usually not necessary to set this)
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Pushing notifications
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Saving
Translation: