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Atom is an XML-based format for distributing web content and its metadata. An Atom feed groups feed-level information with zero or more entries; each entry describes an individual item, such as a news headline or blog post. The format is specified in IETF RFC 4287, published in December 2005.
What is the Atom syndication format?
Atom provides a structured way for publishers to make web content available to websites and user agents. It represents related information as a feed of entries, with metadata describing the feed and its items. RFC 4287 calls the format “Atom” and notes that it may conveniently be called “Atom 1.0.”
Atom documents are serialized as XML 1.0 and use the media type application/atom+xml. The format’s XML namespace is http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom. Documents must be well-formed XML, but RFC 4287 does not define a DTD or require XML validity in the XML sense.
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The distinction is the document’s scope: a feed represents a collection and its metadata, while an entry document represents one item on its own.
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- Feed document: Has an
atom:feedroot, feed-level metadata, and zero or moreatom:entryelements. It may contain some or all entries associated with that feed. - Entry document: Has an
atom:entryroot and represents exactly one entry outside a feed.
The standard assigns no significance to the order of entries within a feed. Atom processors may retain state and combine feed documents, but RFC 4287 does not specify how to reconstruct a continuous feed from separate documents.
Which elements are required?
Feed-level requirements
An Atom feed must contain exactly one atom:id, atom:title, and atom:updated. It must also have at least one author at feed level unless every child entry supplies an author. A feed should include a self link identifying the preferred URI for retrieving feed documents.
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Entry-level requirements
An entry must contain exactly one atom:id, atom:title, and atom:updated. It must have an author on the entry itself, in its source element, or inherited from the containing feed. If an entry has no atom:content, it must include an alternate link. RFC 4287 sets additional conditions for summaries and particular content encodings.
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Content and links
An entry’s atom:content can contain content or link to it. An atom:link relates a feed or entry to a web resource and requires an href attribute. Feed and entry links serve different purposes: a feed’s self link identifies its preferred retrieval URI, while an entry’s alternate link can point to an alternative representation of that item.
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Atom also allows extensions, subject to the rules for processors in RFC 4287.
What do Atom’s published and updated timestamps mean?
atom:published marks an instant associated with an event early in an entry’s life cycle. atom:updated marks the most recent instant at which the publisher considers the entry or feed significantly modified. They are not interchangeable: an item can be published at one time and significantly changed later.
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The RFC says publishers should represent dates as accurately as possible. It cautions against assigning the same timestamp to multiple entries published at different times during a day.
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What should you remember about Atom?
- It is an XML format for syndicating web content and metadata.
- A feed document groups feed metadata with zero or more entries; an entry document stands alone as one item.
- Feed and entry documents each require exactly one ID, title, and updated timestamp.
- Authorship can be inherited, but feeds and entries must satisfy the specification’s author requirements.
- Published describes an early-life-cycle event; updated marks a significant modification.
- The standard does not prescribe how a processor combines separate feed documents into a continuous view.
RFC 4287 remains the cited specification for the format’s definition. The RFC Editor records that it was updated by RFC 5988, which concerns Web Linking; that update reference by itself does not establish a change to Atom’s core definition.
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