How to: Create a Basic RSS Feed

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Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) allows you to create a service that exposes a syndication feed. This topic discusses how to create a syndication service that exposes an RSS syndication feed.

To create a basic syndication service

Define a service contract using an interface marked with the WebGetAttribute attribute. Each operation that is exposed as a syndication feed should return a Rss20FeedFormatter object.

Visual Basic

<ServiceContract()> _
Public Interface IBlog
    <OperationContract()> _
<WebGet> _
Function GetBlog() As Rss20FeedFormatter
End Interface

[ServiceContract]
public interface IBlog
{
    [OperationContract]
    [WebGet]
    Rss20FeedFormatter GetBlog();
}

Note:
All service operations that apply the WebGetAttribute attribute are mapped to HTTP GET requests. To map your operation to a different HTTP method, use the WebInvokeAttribute instead. For more information, see How to: Create a Basic Web-Style Service.

Implement the service contract.

Visual Basic

Public Class BlogService
    Implements IBlog

    Public Function GetBlog() As Rss20FeedFormatter Implements IBlog.GetBlog
        Dim feed As SyndicationFeed = New SyndicationFeed("My Blog Feed", "This is a test feed", New Uri("http://SomeURI"))
        feed.Authors.Add(New SyndicationPerson("someone@microsoft.com"))
        feed.Categories.Add(New SyndicationCategory("How To Sample Code"))
        feed.Description = New TextSyndicationContent("This is a how to sample that demonstrates how to expose a feed using RSS with WCF")

        Dim item1 As SyndicationItem = New SyndicationItem( _
            "Item One", _
            "This is the content for item one", _
            New Uri("http://localhost/Content/One"), _
            "ItemOneID", _
            DateTime.Now)

        Dim item2 As SyndicationItem = New SyndicationItem( _
            "Item Two", _
            "This is the content for item two", _
            New Uri("http://localhost/Content/Two"), _
            "ItemTwoID", _
            DateTime.Now)

        Dim item3 As SyndicationItem = New SyndicationItem( _
            "Item Three", _
            "This is the content for item three", _
            New Uri("http://localhost/Content/three"), _
            "ItemThreeID", _
            DateTime.Now)

        Dim items As New List(Of SyndicationItem)()

        items.Add(item1)
        items.Add(item2)
        items.Add(item3)

        feed.Items = items

        Return New Rss20FeedFormatter(feed)
    End Function
End Class

public class BlogService : IBlog
{
    public Rss20FeedFormatter GetBlog()
    {
        SyndicationFeed feed = new SyndicationFeed("My Blog Feed", "This is a test feed", new Uri("http://SomeURI"));
        feed.Authors.Add(new SyndicationPerson("someone@microsoft.com"));
        feed.Categories.Add(new SyndicationCategory("How To Sample Code"));
        feed.Description = new TextSyndicationContent("This is a how to sample that demonstrates how to expose a feed using RSS with WCF");

        SyndicationItem item1 = new SyndicationItem(
            "Item One",
            "This is the content for item one",
            new Uri("http://localhost/Content/One"),
            "ItemOneID",
            DateTime.Now);

        SyndicationItem item2 = new SyndicationItem(
            "Item Two",
            "This is the content for item two",
            new Uri("http://localhost/Content/Two"),
            "ItemTwoID",
            DateTime.Now);

        SyndicationItem item3 = new SyndicationItem(
            "Item Three",
            "This is the content for item three",
            new Uri("http://localhost/Content/three"),
            "ItemThreeID",
            DateTime.Now);

        List<SyndicationItem> items = new List<SyndicationItem>();

        items.Add(item1);
        items.Add(item2);
        items.Add(item3);

        feed.Items = items;

        return new Rss20FeedFormatter(feed);
    }
}

Create a SyndicationFeed object and add an author, category, and description.

Visual Basic

Dim feed As SyndicationFeed = New SyndicationFeed("My Blog Feed", "This is a test feed", New Uri("http://SomeURI"))
feed.Authors.Add(New SyndicationPerson("someone@microsoft.com"))
feed.Categories.Add(New SyndicationCategory("How To Sample Code"))
feed.Description = New TextSyndicationContent("This is a how to sample that demonstrates how to expose a feed using RSS with WCF")

SyndicationFeed feed = new SyndicationFeed("My Blog Feed", "This is a test feed", new Uri("http://SomeURI"));
feed.Authors.Add(new SyndicationPerson("someone@microsoft.com"));
feed.Categories.Add(new SyndicationCategory("How To Sample Code"));
feed.Description = new TextSyndicationContent("This is a how to sample that demonstrates how to expose a feed using RSS with WCF");

Create several SyndicationItem objects.

Visual Basic

Dim item1 As SyndicationItem = New SyndicationItem( _
    "Item One", _
    "This is the content for item one", _
    New Uri("http://localhost/Content/One"), _
    "ItemOneID", _
    DateTime.Now)

Dim item2 As SyndicationItem = New SyndicationItem( _
    "Item Two", _
    "This is the content for item two", _
    New Uri("http://localhost/Content/Two"), _
    "ItemTwoID", _
    DateTime.Now)

Dim item3 As SyndicationItem = New SyndicationItem( _
    "Item Three", _
    "This is the content for item three", _
    New Uri("http://localhost/Content/three"), _
    "ItemThreeID", _
    DateTime.Now)

SyndicationItem item1 = new SyndicationItem(
    "Item One",
    "This is the content for item one",
    new Uri("http://localhost/Content/One"),
    "ItemOneID",
    DateTime.Now);

SyndicationItem item2 = new SyndicationItem(
    "Item Two",
    "This is the content for item two",
    new Uri("http://localhost/Content/Two"),
    "ItemTwoID",
    DateTime.Now);

SyndicationItem item3 = new SyndicationItem(
    "Item Three",
    "This is the content for item three",
    new Uri("http://localhost/Content/three"),
    "ItemThreeID",
    DateTime.Now);

Add the SyndicationItem to the feed.

Visual Basic

Dim items As New List(Of SyndicationItem)()

items.Add(item1)
items.Add(item2)
items.Add(item3)

feed.Items = items

List<SyndicationItem> items = new List<SyndicationItem>();

items.Add(item1);
items.Add(item2);
items.Add(item3);

feed.Items = items;

Return the feed.

Visual Basic

Return New Rss20FeedFormatter(feed)

return new Rss20FeedFormatter(feed);

To host a service

Create a WebServiceHost object.

Visual Basic

Dim baseAddress As New Uri("http://localhost:8000/BlogService")
Dim svcHost As New WebServiceHost(GetType(BlogService), baseAddress)

Uri baseAddress = new Uri("http://localhost:8000/BlogService");
WebServiceHost svcHost = new WebServiceHost(typeof(BlogService), baseAddress);

Open the service host and wait until the user presses ENTER.

Visual Basic

svcHost.Open()
Console.WriteLine("Service is running")

Dim reader As XmlReader = XmlReader.Create("http://localhost:8000/BlogService/GetBlog")
Dim feed As SyndicationFeed = SyndicationFeed.Load(reader)
Console.WriteLine(feed.Title.Text)
Console.WriteLine("Items:")
For Each item As SyndicationItem In feed.Items
    Console.WriteLine("Title: {0}", item.Title.Text)
    Console.WriteLine("Summary: {0}", item.Summary.Text)
Next
Console.WriteLine("Press <enter> to quit...")
Console.ReadLine()
svcHost.Close()

svcHost.Open();
Console.WriteLine("Service is running");

XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create("http://localhost:8000/BlogService/GetBlog");
SyndicationFeed feed = SyndicationFeed.Load(reader);
Console.WriteLine(feed.Title.Text);
Console.WriteLine("Items:");
foreach (SyndicationItem item in feed.Items)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Title: {0}", item.Title.Text);
    Console.WriteLine("Summary: {0}", ((TextSyndicationContent)item.Summary).Text);
}
Console.WriteLine("Press <enter> to quit...");
Console.ReadLine();
svcHost.Close();

To call GetBlog() with an HTTP GET

Open Internet Explorer, type the following URL, and press ENTER: http://localhost:8000/BlogService/GetBlog. The URL contains the base address of the service (http://localhost:8000/BlogService), the relative address of the endpoint, and the service operation to call.

To call GetBlog() from code

Create an XmlReader with the base address and the method you are calling.

Visual Basic

Dim serviceAddress As New Uri("http://localhost:8000/BlogService/GetBlog")

Uri serviceAddress = new Uri("http://localhost:8000/BlogService/GetBlog");

Call the static Load method, passing in the XmlReader you just created.

Visual Basic

Dim reader As XmlReader = XmlReader.Create("http://localhost:8000/BlogService/GetBlog")
Dim feed As SyndicationFeed = SyndicationFeed.Load(reader)

XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create("http://localhost:8000/BlogService/GetBlog");
SyndicationFeed feed = SyndicationFeed.Load(reader);

This invokes the service operation and populates a new SyndicationFeed with the formatter returned from the service operation.

Access the feed object.

Visual Basic

Console.WriteLine(feed.Title.Text)
Console.WriteLine("Items:")
For Each item As SyndicationItem In feed.Items
    Console.WriteLine("Title:  {0}", item.Title.Text)
    Console.WriteLine("Summary:  {0}", item.Summary.Text)
Next

Console.WriteLine(feed.Title.Text);
Console.WriteLine("Items:");
foreach (SyndicationItem item in feed.Items)
{
    Console.WriteLine("Title: {0}", item.Title.Text);
    Console.WriteLine("Summary: {0}", ((TextSyndicationContent)item.Summary).Text);
}

Example

The following is the full code listing for this example.

Visual Basic

Imports System
Imports System.Xml
Imports System.ServiceModel
Imports System.ServiceModel.Description
Imports System.ServiceModel.Syndication
Imports System.ServiceModel.Web
Imports System.Collections.ObjectModel
Imports System.Collections.Generic

<ServiceContract()> _
Public Interface IBlog
    <OperationContract()> _
<WebGet> _
Function GetBlog() As Rss20FeedFormatter
End Interface

Public Class BlogService
    Implements IBlog

    Public Function GetBlog() As Rss20FeedFormatter Implements IBlog.GetBlog
        Dim feed As SyndicationFeed = New SyndicationFeed("My Blog Feed", "This is a test feed", New Uri("http://SomeURI"))
        feed.Authors.Add(New SyndicationPerson("someone@microsoft.com"))
        feed.Categories.Add(New SyndicationCategory("How To Sample Code"))
        feed.Description = New TextSyndicationContent("This is a how to sample that demonstrates how to expose a feed using RSS with WCF")

        Dim item1 As SyndicationItem = New SyndicationItem( _
            "Item One", _
            "This is the content for item one", _
            New Uri("http://localhost/Content/One"), _
            "ItemOneID", _
            DateTime.Now)

        Dim item2 As SyndicationItem = New SyndicationItem( _
            "Item Two", _
            "This is the content for item two", _
            New Uri("http://localhost/Content/Two"), _
            "ItemTwoID", _
            DateTime.Now)

        Dim item3 As SyndicationItem = New SyndicationItem( _
            "Item Three", _
            "This is the content for item three", _
            New Uri("http://localhost/Content/three"), _
            "ItemThreeID", _
            DateTime.Now)

        Dim items As New List(Of SyndicationItem)()

        items.Add(item1)
        items.Add(item2)
        items.Add(item3)

        feed.Items = items

        Return New Rss20FeedFormatter(feed)
    End Function
End Class


Module Program

    Sub Main()
        Dim baseAddress As New Uri("http://localhost:8000/BlogService")
        Dim svcHost As New WebServiceHost(GetType(BlogService), baseAddress)

        Try
            svcHost.Open()
            Console.WriteLine("Service is running")

            Dim reader As XmlReader = XmlReader.Create("http://localhost:8000/BlogService/GetBlog")
            Dim feed As SyndicationFeed = SyndicationFeed.Load(reader)
            Console.WriteLine(feed.Title.Text)
            Console.WriteLine("Items:")
            For Each item As SyndicationItem In feed.Items
                Console.WriteLine("Title: {0}", item.Title.Text)
                Console.WriteLine("Summary: {0}", item.Summary.Text)
            Next
            Console.WriteLine("Press <enter> to quit...")
            Console.ReadLine()
            svcHost.Close()
        Catch ce As CommunicationException
            Console.WriteLine("An exception occurred: {0}", ce.Message)
            svcHost.Abort()
        End Try
    End Sub
End Module

using System;
using System.Xml;
using System.ServiceModel;
using System.ServiceModel.Description;
using System.ServiceModel.Syndication;
using System.ServiceModel.Web;
using System.Collections.ObjectModel;
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace Service
{
    [ServiceContract]
    public interface IBlog
    {
        [OperationContract]
        [WebGet]
        Rss20FeedFormatter GetBlog();
    }

    public class BlogService : IBlog
    {
        public Rss20FeedFormatter GetBlog()
        {
            SyndicationFeed feed = new SyndicationFeed("My Blog Feed", "This is a test feed", new Uri("http://SomeURI"));
            feed.Authors.Add(new SyndicationPerson("someone@microsoft.com"));
            feed.Categories.Add(new SyndicationCategory("How To Sample Code"));
            feed.Description = new TextSyndicationContent("This is a how to sample that demonstrates how to expose a feed using RSS with WCF");

            SyndicationItem item1 = new SyndicationItem(
                "Item One",
                "This is the content for item one",
                new Uri("http://localhost/Content/One"),
                "ItemOneID",
                DateTime.Now);

            SyndicationItem item2 = new SyndicationItem(
                "Item Two",
                "This is the content for item two",
                new Uri("http://localhost/Content/Two"),
                "ItemTwoID",
                DateTime.Now);

            SyndicationItem item3 = new SyndicationItem(
                "Item Three",
                "This is the content for item three",
                new Uri("http://localhost/Content/three"),
                "ItemThreeID",
                DateTime.Now);

            List<SyndicationItem> items = new List<SyndicationItem>();

            items.Add(item1);
            items.Add(item2);
            items.Add(item3);

            feed.Items = items;

            return new Rss20FeedFormatter(feed);
        }
    }

    public class Host
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            Uri baseAddress = new Uri("http://localhost:8000/BlogService");
            WebServiceHost svcHost = new WebServiceHost(typeof(BlogService), baseAddress);

            try
            {
                svcHost.Open();
                Console.WriteLine("Service is running");

                XmlReader reader = XmlReader.Create("http://localhost:8000/BlogService/GetBlog");
                SyndicationFeed feed = SyndicationFeed.Load(reader);
                Console.WriteLine(feed.Title.Text);
                Console.WriteLine("Items:");
                foreach (SyndicationItem item in feed.Items)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Title: {0}", item.Title.Text);
                    Console.WriteLine("Summary: {0}", ((TextSyndicationContent)item.Summary).Text);
                }
                Console.WriteLine("Press <enter> to quit...");
                Console.ReadLine();
                svcHost.Close();
            }
            catch (CommunicationException ce)
            {
                Console.WriteLine("An exception occurred: {0}", ce.Message);
                svcHost.Abort();
            }
        }
    }
}

Compiling the Code

When compiling the preceding code, reference System.ServiceModel.dll and System.ServiceModel.Web.dll.

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To create a basic syndication service

To host a service

To call GetBlog() with an HTTP GET

To call GetBlog() from code

Example

Compiling the Code

See Also

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