Ken Levy mentioned out on the UT yesterday that it would be a cool VFP open source project to create a table that RSS could be imported into and the exported out of. I thought it was an excellent idea. So, I played around with RSS 2.0 last night. After more than a little reading on the specifications for RSS 2.0, and some trial and error, I was able to create a workable XML schema (XSD) for RSS 2.0. When I say workable, I mean I wanted it to work with VFP's XMLAdapter class. I'll be working on the other RSS schemas as time permits.

Below is a runnable example using the new schema and pulling RSS 2.0 sample content from:
http://media-cyber.law.harvard.edu/blogs/gems/tech/rss2sample.xml

It's a lot of code, but most of it is the XML schema, and that could be placed in a file to be used as the XMLAdapter's schema. I just wanted to provide an example here that runs right out of the box with a copy of VFP 9 and an internet connetction. Have fun! (I'll quit getting side-tracked and get back to Emal and VFP shortly)

LOCAL loXMLAdapter, loBrowser, lcXSD, lcRSSContent, lcXMLHeader, lcXMLFooter lcXMLHeader = GetHeader() lcXSD = VFPRSS2Schema() lcRSSContent = RetrieveRSS("http://media-cyber.law.harvard.edu/blogs/gems/tech/rss2sample.xml") lcXMLFooter = GetFooter() oXMLAdapter = NEWOBJECT('XMLAdapter') oXMLAdapter.LOADXML(lcXMLHeader + lcXSD + lcRSSContent + lcXMLFooter) CLOSE DATABASES ALL oXMLAdapter.TABLES(1).TOCURSOR && Cloud oXMLAdapter.TABLES(2).TOCURSOR && Image oXMLAdapter.TABLES(3).TOCURSOR && Textinput oXMLAdapter.TABLES(4).TOCURSOR && Enclosure oXMLAdapter.TABLES(5).TOCURSOR && Item oXMLAdapter.TABLES(6).TOCURSOR && Channel SET ***************************** FUNCTION GetHeader() *****************************  LOCAL lcHeader  TEXT TO lcHeader NOSHOW <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <VFPDataSet>  ENDTEXT  RETURN lcHeader ENDFUNC ***************************** FUNCTION GetFooter() *****************************  LOCAL lcFooter  TEXT TO lcFooter NOSHOW </VFPDataSet>  ENDTEXT  RETURN lcFooter ENDFUNC ***************************** FUNCTION VFPRSS2Schema() *****************************  LOCAL lcXML  TEXT TO lcXML NOSHOW <xsd:schema id="VFPDataSet" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:msdata="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xml-msdata">  <xsd:element name="VFPDataSet" msdata:IsDataSet="true">   <xsd:complexType>    <xsd:choice maxOccurs="unbounded">    <xsd:element name="channel">     <xsd:complexType>      <xsd:sequence>       <xsd:element name="title" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="link" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="description" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="language" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1"  default="en-us">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="copyright" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="managingEditor" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="webMaster" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="pubDate" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="lastBuildDate" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="category" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="generator" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="docs" default="http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="cloud">        <xsd:complexType>         <xsd:sequence>          <xsd:element name="domain" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">            <xsd:simpleType>             <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">             </xsd:restriction>            </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="port" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">            <xsd:simpleType>             <xsd:restriction base="xsd:integer">             </xsd:restriction>            </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="path" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">            <xsd:simpleType>             <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">             </xsd:restriction>            </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="registerProcedure" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">            <xsd:simpleType>             <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">             </xsd:restriction>            </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="protocol" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">            <xsd:simpleType>             <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">             </xsd:restriction>            </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>         </xsd:sequence>        </xsd:complexType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="ttl">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:integer">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="image">        <xsd:complexType>         <xsd:sequence>          <xsd:element name="url" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">            <xsd:simpleType>             <xsd:restriction base="xsd:anyURI">             </xsd:restriction>            </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="title" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">            <xsd:simpleType>             <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">             </xsd:restriction>            </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="link" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">            <xsd:simpleType>             <xsd:restriction base="xsd:anyURI">             </xsd:restriction>            </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="width" default="88">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:decimal">             <xsd:maxInclusive value="144"></xsd:maxInclusive>             <xsd:minInclusive value="0"></xsd:minInclusive>             <xsd:fractionDigits value="0"></xsd:fractionDigits>            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="height" default="31">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:decimal">             <xsd:maxInclusive value="400"></xsd:maxInclusive>             <xsd:minInclusive value="0"></xsd:minInclusive>             <xsd:fractionDigits value="0"></xsd:fractionDigits>            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="description">            <xsd:simpleType>             <xsd:restriction base="xsd:anyURI">             </xsd:restriction>            </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>         </xsd:sequence>        </xsd:complexType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="rating">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="textInput">        <xsd:complexType>         <xsd:sequence>          <xsd:element name="title">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="description">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="name">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="link">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:anyURI">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>         </xsd:sequence>        </xsd:complexType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="skipHours" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="24">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="skipDays" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="7">        <xsd:simpleType>         <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">         </xsd:restriction>        </xsd:simpleType>       </xsd:element>       <xsd:element name="item">        <xsd:complexType>         <xsd:sequence>          <xsd:element name="title">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="link">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="description">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="author" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="category" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="unbounded">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="comments" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:anyURI">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="enclosure">           <xsd:complexType>            <xsd:sequence>             <xsd:element name="url" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">              <xsd:simpleType>               <xsd:restriction base="xsd:anyURI">               </xsd:restriction>              </xsd:simpleType>             </xsd:element>             <xsd:element name="length" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">              <xsd:simpleType>               <xsd:restriction base="xsd:integer">               </xsd:restriction>              </xsd:simpleType>             </xsd:element>             <xsd:element name="type" minOccurs="1" maxOccurs="1">              <xsd:simpleType>               <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">               </xsd:restriction>              </xsd:simpleType>             </xsd:element>            </xsd:sequence>           </xsd:complexType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="guid" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>            <!--             <xsd:attribute name="isPermaLink" type="xs:boolean" default="true"></xsd:attribute>            -->           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="pubDate" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>          <xsd:element name="source" minOccurs="0" maxOccurs="1">           <xsd:simpleType>            <xsd:restriction base="xsd:string">            </xsd:restriction>           </xsd:simpleType>          </xsd:element>         </xsd:sequence>        </xsd:complexType>       </xsd:element>      </xsd:sequence>     <xsd:attribute name="version" default="2.0"></xsd:attribute>     </xsd:complexType>    </xsd:element>    </xsd:choice>   </xsd:complexType>  </xsd:element> </xsd:schema>  ENDTEXT  RETURN lcXML ENDFUNC ***************************** FUNCTION RetrieveRSS(tcURL) *****************************  #DEFINE INTERNET_OPEN_TYPE_PRECONFIG 0  #DEFINE SYNCHRONOUS 0  #DEFINE INTERNET_FLAG_RELOAD 2147483648  DECLARE INTEGER InternetOpen IN WININET STRING Agent, ;   INTEGER AccessType, STRING ProxyName, ;   STRING ProxyBypass, INTEGER Flags  DECLARE INTEGER InternetOpenUrl IN WININET ;   INTEGER hInternetSession, STRING Url, STRING Header, ;   INTEGER HeaderLength, INTEGER Flags, INTEGER Context  DECLARE INTEGER InternetReadFile IN WININET INTEGER file, ;   STRING @Buffer, INTEGER NumberOfBytesToRead, INTEGER @BytesRead  DECLARE SHORT InternetCloseHandle IN WININET INTEGER hInst  LOCAL lcAgent, lhInternetSession, lhFile, llOK, lnReturn, lcReadBuffer, lnBytesRead, lcRetVal  lcAgent = "VFP RSS 2.0 Reader"  lhInternetSession = InternetOpen(lcAgent, INTERNET_OPEN_TYPE_PRECONFIG, "", "", SYNCHRONOUS)  IF lhInternetSession = 0   ? "Problem Encountered: Internet session cannot be established"  ELSE   lhFile = InternetOpenUrl( lhInternetSession, tcURL, '', 0, INTERNET_FLAG_RELOAD, 0)   IF lhFile = 0    ? "Problem Encountered: URL cannot be opened"   ELSE    lcRetVal = ""    llOK = .T.        DO WHILE llOK     lcReadBuffer = SPACE(1500)     lnBytesRead = 0     lnReturn = InternetReadFile(lhFile, @lcReadBuffer, LEN(lcReadBuffer), @lnBytesRead)     IF (lnBytesRead > 0)      lcRetVal = lcRetVal + LEFT(lcReadBuffer, lnBytesRead)     ENDIF     llOK = (lnReturn = 1 AND lnBytesRead > 0)    ENDDO        InternetCloseHandle(lhFile)    InternetCloseHandle(lhInternetSession)    lcRetVal = SUBSTR(lcRetVal, ATC("<channel", lcRetVal))        RETURN LEFT(lcRetVal, ATC("</channel>", lcRetVal) + 9)   ENDIF  ENDIF  RETURN "" ENDFUNC