FeedBrowser, the 'Hidden' news aggregattor...

DotNetNuke includes support for an RSS syndication aggregator, part of the Solution Explorer used to present available 3rd party modules. What’s not widely known is that the built-in support can be used to provide your DNN site with a functional news aggregator, called the FeedBrowser. Using either a custom OPML file, or simple OMPL outline code, you can present RSS feeds from multiple sources.

I've been working with the DotNetNuke project since about 2003, so it's no surprise that many of the projects' features are not easily found. The codebase includes so much support for a wide array of 'stake-holders', you need a whole lot of time to get a thorough understanding of it.

I admit that I've got very little time, but still have a big interest in keeping up with the features of DNN that interest me the most - RSS newsfeeds, XML, and XSL. I'm not sure why I became so focused on these topics, except maybe the need to take in a lot of info daily in as little time as possible, and the need to find ways to share data between disparate systems. I manage various systems using operatings systems from Windows, Linux, OpenVMS, and soon - HP-UX. Getting data from one system to the other is always a task in the queue. As such, I review a lot of technical journals, and information resources daily. Couple that need with being almost completely deaf, and it's no wonder why 'reading' and consuming information in digest forms is essential to me.

With the release of DNN v04.06 coming up shortly (maybe this weekend!), I thought I'd take a moment to thanks those folks on the DNN Core Team, and various Project Teams for their efforts. I, actually, am a former Core Team member, but dropped out due to time conflicts - really couldn't keep up with the day gig, and DNN CT tasks, so I had to drop out.

Also, wanted to give folks a heads up on a feature of DNN that you may not know about - the FeedBrowser. Part of the rollout of DNN includes a listing of various DNN validated, tested, and available Modules for sale. The listing is available using the ADMIN account for your DNN site, and is called the Solutions Explorer. There are a lot of cool modules listed. As I was looking around at it, I began to wonder how this information was being generated, and how I could tap into that kind of resource for my DNN site usage. So, I did some code review, and what I found, really surprised me.

I was the Project Lead for the DNN Newsfeeds (RSS) module, and part of our roadmap included bringing the module up-to-date to become a news agregattor. Well, short story, not much happened to update the module, though folks did work on it. In fact, some work was done, but only released in Beta module code available only to Beta Testers. So, many folks were left without a way to aggregate syndication sources.

That's exactly where the FeedBrowser module comes in. What 'FeedBrowser' module you ask? Well, you won't see it in the listing of available modules to install, because it's part of the codebase used to provide the Solution Explorer information. However, if you go to the ADMIN toolbar, you can find it listed in the dropdown box of modules to add.

I missed that piece for a bit, and only last week found it, and began playing with it. I'll give you more info on how to set it up, but basically, it is a simple news aggregator using OPML to give you a nice way to display syndication sources.

More to follow, so stay tuned. Drop me an email, and I'll send you my WizzoDawg.opml that is customized for use with the FeedBrowser, or if you prefer, just take a look at this post, where I've included some instructions and example code to get you going.

http://www.dotnetnuke.com/Community/Forums/tabid/795/forumid/48/threadid/168802/scope/posts/Default.aspx

Cheers