Introduction
============
:program:`Universal Feed Parser` is a :program:`Python` module for downloading
and parsing syndicated feeds. It can handle :abbr:`RSS (Rich Site Summary)`
0.90, Netscape :abbr:`RSS (Rich Site Summary)` 0.91, Userland :abbr:`RSS (Rich
Site Summary)` 0.91, :abbr:`RSS (Rich Site Summary)` 0.92, :abbr:`RSS (Rich
Site Summary)` 0.93, :abbr:`RSS (Rich Site Summary)` 0.94, :abbr:`RSS (Rich
Site Summary)` 1.0, :abbr:`RSS (Rich Site Summary)` 2.0, Atom 0.3, Atom 1.0,
and :abbr:`CDF (Channel Definition Format)` feeds. It also parses several
popular extension modules, including Dublin Core and Apple's :program:`iTunes`
extensions.
To use :program:`Universal Feed Parser`, you will need :program:`Python` 2.4 or
later (Python 3 is supported). :program:`Universal Feed Parser` is not meant
to run standalone; it is a module for you to use as part of a larger
:program:`Python` program.
:program:`Universal Feed Parser` is easy to use; the module is self-contained
in a single file, :file:`feedparser.py`, and it has one primary public
function, ``parse``. ``parse`` takes a number of arguments, but only one is
required, and it can be a :abbr:`URL (Uniform Resource Locator)`, a local
filename, or a raw string containing feed data in any format.
Parsing a feed from a remote :abbr:`URL (Uniform Resource Locator)`
-------------------------------------------------------------------
::
>>> import feedparser
>>> d = feedparser.parse('http://feedparser.org/docs/examples/atom10.xml')
>>> d['feed']['title']
u'Sample Feed'
The following example assumes you are on Windows, and that you have saved a feed at :file:`c:\\incoming\\atom10.xml`.
.. note::
:program:`Universal Feed Parser` works on any platform that can run
:program:`Python`; use the path syntax appropriate for your platform.
Parsing a feed from a local file
--------------------------------
::
>>> import feedparser
>>> d = feedparser.parse(r'c:\incoming\atom10.xml')
>>> d['feed']['title']
u'Sample Feed'
:program:`Universal Feed Parser` can also parse a feed in memory.
Parsing a feed from a string
----------------------------
::
>>> import feedparser
>>> rawdata = """
Sample Feed
"""
>>> d = feedparser.parse(rawdata)
>>> d['feed']['title']
u'Sample Feed'
Values are returned as :program:`Python` Unicode strings (except when they're
not -- see :ref:`advanced.encoding` for all the gory details).
.. seealso::
`Introduction to Python Unicode strings `_