Scripting News: Changes to the OPML 2.0 spec

Scripting News, the weblog started in 1997 that bootstrapped the blogging revolution.

Changes to the OPML 2.0 spec

Here's a list of the changes I made in the last couple of days to the draft OPML 2.0 spc. The changes were in response to comments here in July 2007. Included are notes on the specific suggestions, including ones I didn't understand or decided not to implement.

I provided in response to a request from Don Hopkins, a rigorous definition of flatdown. Actual C source code is provided. I also defined the other outline processing directions -- up, down, left, right, flatup and nodirection, even though Don didn't request those (and they're not mentioned in the spec).

I uploaded a copy of the C source code of the OPML Editor in a form that will be better indexed by search engines, so that future queries about the internal workings of outliners can be addressed by searching the source. It's licensed under the GPL, and build instructions using XCode are provided (as are build files for a variety of popular development environments).

I don't generally support this technology, I wrote much of the code but it was a very long time ago, and my memory isn't so good anymore. But surprisingly, a lot of it came back. ";->"

Don Park wants to extend OPML using a wiki. Not sure I understand how this works, but he says it doesn't involve changing the spec (thanks!) so it's no problem for me. I'll watch and see how it develops.

PS: Possibly the coolest thing made possible by today's changes is the ability to embed OPML 2.0 data in RSS 2.0 feeds.

Last update: Thursday, June 3, 2010; 4:01:31 PM

~About the Author~

Dave Winer, 55, is a visiting scholar at NYU's Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. He pioneered the development of weblogs, syndication (RSS), podcasting, outlining, and web content management software; former contributing editor at Wired Magazine, research fellow at Harvard Law School, entrepreneur, and investor in web media companies. A native New Yorker, he received a Master's in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin, a Bachelor's in Mathematics from Tulane University and currently lives in New York City.

"The protoblogger." - NY Times.

"The father of modern-day content distribution." - PC World.

One of BusinessWeek's 25 Most Influential People on the Web.

"Helped popularize blogging, podcasting and RSS." - Time.

"The father of blogging and RSS." - BBC.

"RSS was born in 1997 out of the confluence of Dave Winer's 'Really Simple Syndication' technology, used to push out blog updates, and Netscape's 'Rich Site Summary', which allowed users to create custom Netscape home pages with regularly updated data flows." - Tim O'Reilly.

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Jul Sep