Using Server-Side Software

The RSS-to-JavaScript Web sites described so far rely on server-side programming, and that programming resides on someone else's server. This means you're susceptible to changes on that server, server downtime, and so on.

Using a server-side software package allows you to avoid those problems, and there are plenty of packages to choose from. Most RSS-handling software uses the PHP language (although there are other, more innovative ways of doing things, such as using Java applets).

Your Web server may already support PHP; to find out, check with your server's tech staff. If it doesn't, you can find dozens of servers that dojust search on Google for PHP server.

Tip

Installing PHP locally (on your own machine) is useful for testing and development purposes. You can get PHP for free from www.php.net.

The PHP packages discussed in this chapter usually don't require much installation. Typically, you copy some PHP files over to the same directory in which you store your Web pages. Some packages involve substantial installation, however, and you may need to decide how much control you want to give them.