- XML Reference Guide
- Overview
- What Is XML?
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- Table of Contents
- The Document Object Model
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- DOM and Java
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Implementations
- DOM and JavaScript
- Using a Repeater
- Repeaters and XML
- Repeater Resources
- DOM and .NET
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Documentation and Downloads
- DOM and C++
- DOM and C++ Resources
- DOM and Perl
- DOM and Perl Resources
- DOM and PHP
- DOM and PHP Resources
- DOM Level 3
- DOM Level 3 Core
- DOM Level 3 Load and Save
- DOM Level 3 XPath
- DOM Level 3 Validation
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Documentation and Implementations
- The Simple API for XML (SAX)
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- SAX and Java
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- SAX and .NET
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- SAX and Perl
- SAX and Perl Resources
- SAX and PHP
- SAX and PHP Resources
- Validation
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- Document Type Definitions (DTDs)
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- XML Schemas
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- RELAX NG
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- Schematron
- Official Documentation and Implementations
- Validation in Applications
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- XSL Transformations (XSLT)
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- XSLT in Java
- Java in XSLT Resources
- XSLT and RSS in .NET
- XSLT and RSS in .NET Resources
- XSL-FO
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- XPath
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- XML Base
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Official Documentation
- XHTML
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- XHTML 2.0
- Documentation
- Cascading Style Sheets
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- XUL
- XUL References
- XML Events
- XML Events Resources
- XML Data Binding
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Specifications
- Implementations
- XML and Databases
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Online Resources
- Official Documentation
- SQL Server and FOR XML
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Documentation and Implementations
- Service Oriented Architecture
- Web Services
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- Creating a Perl Web Service Client
- SOAP::Lite
- Amazon Web Services
- Creating the Movable Type Plug-in
- Perl, Amazon, and Movable Type Resources
- Apache Axis2
- REST
- REST Resources
- SOAP
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- SOAP and Java
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- WSDL
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- UDDI
- UDDI Resources
- XML-RPC
- XML-RPC in PHP
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- Ajax
- Asynchronous Javascript
- Client-side XSLT
- SAJAX and PHP
- Ajax Resources
- JSON
- Ruby on Rails
- Creating Objects
- Ruby Basics: Arrays and Other Sundry Bits
- Ruby Basics: Iterators and Persistence
- Starting on the Rails
- Rails and Databases
- Rails: Ajax and Partials
- Rails Resources
- Web Services Security
- Web Services Security Resources
- SAML
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Specification and Implementation
- XML Digital Signatures
- XML Digital Signatures Resources
- XML Key Management Services
- Resources for XML Key Management Services
- Internationalization
- Resources
- Grid Computing
- Grid Resources
- Web Services Resource Framework
- Web Services Resource Framework Resources
- WS-Addressing
- WS-Addressing Resources
- WS-Notifications
- New Languages: XML in Use
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- Google Web Toolkit
- GWT Basic Interactivity
- Google Sitemaps
- Google Sitemaps Resources
- Accessibility
- Web Accessibility
- XML Accessibility
- Accessibility Resources
- The Semantic Web
- Defining a New Ontology
- OWL: Web Ontology Language
- Semantic Web Resources
- Google Base
- Microformats
- StructuredBlogging
- Live Clipboard
- WML
- XHTML-MP
- WML Resources
- Google Web Services
- Google Web Services API
- Google Web Services Resources
- The Yahoo! Web Services Interface
- Yahoo! Web Services and PHP
- Yahoo! Web Services Resources
- eBay REST API
- WordML
- WordML Part 2: Lists
- WordML Part 3: Tables
- WordML Resources
- DocBook
- Articles
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation and Implementations
- XML Query
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- XForms
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- Resource Description Framework (RDF)
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- Topic Maps
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation, Implementations, and Other Resources
- Rich Site Summary (RSS)
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- Simple Sharing Extensions (SSE)
- Atom
- Podcasting
- Podcasting Resources
- Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)
- Informit Articles and Sample Chapters
- Books and e-Books
- Official Documentation
- OPML
- OPML Resources
- Summary
- Projects
- JavaScript TimeTracker: JSON and PHP
- The Javascript Timetracker
- Refactoring to Javascript Objects
- Creating the Yahoo! Widget
- Web Mashup
- Google Maps
- Indeed Mashup
- Mashup Part 3: Putting It All Together
- Additional Resources
- Frequently Asked Questions About XML
- What's XML, and why should I use it?
- What's a well-formed document?
- What's the difference between XML and HTML?
- What's the difference between HTML and XHTML?
- Can I use XML in a browser?
- Should I use elements or attributes for my document?
- What's a namespace?
- Where can I get an XML parser?
- What's the difference between a well-formed document and a valid document?
- What's a validating parser?
- Should I use DOM or SAX for my application?
- How can I stop a SAX parser before it has parsed the entire document?
- 2005 Predictions
- 2006 Predictions
- Nick's Book Picks
InformIT Articles and Sample Chapters
"An XML and RSS Overview" by Kevin Meltzer and Brent Michalski explains RSS, the format in which you actually distribute your podcasts.
I've also got a section on RSS
here in the guide. It explains what RSS is and how to use it, and also talks about the different versions of RSS.
Remember, you need to use version 1.0 or 2.0, because 0.9x doesn't include the enclosure
element.
"Preparing Yourself for Digital Audio" by Jon Luini and Allen Whitman, a sample chapter from their book, Streaming Audio: The FezGuys' Guide (New Riders, 2002, ISBN 0735712808) provides a complete overview of the process of setting up for recording sound. It talks about hardware, and also discusses different format options. Note that while it does talk about streaming, that's not yet an option for podcasting.
"Sounding Good with Premiere" by Thomas Luehrsen, a sample chapter from his book, Creating Web Video with Adobe� Premiere� (Peachpit Press, 2002, ISBN 0201771845) is actually more about choosing the proper microphone, and includes a series of tips for improving sound quality. A must-read if you're recording your own broadcasts.
"A Quick "Rip" Through Digital Audio File Formats" by Ed Tittel, explains the different formats in which you can save your audio, and shows you their strengths and weaknesses.
If you're really into the hard-core mathematics of digital multimedia compression, you might check out Data Compression for Multimedia, from Multimedia Fundamentals, Volume 1: Media Coding and Content Processing, 2nd Edition by Klara Nahrstedt and Ralf Steinmetz (Prentice Hall PTR, 2002, ISBN 0130313998). Be aware, though: I have a degree in physics, and my eyes were glazing over after the first few pages. Not for the faint of heart.
Books and eBooks
Content Syndication with RSS, by Ben Hammersley (O'Reilly, 2003, ISBN 0-596-00383-8) is a complete reference book on using RSS, including the RSS 1.0 and 2.0 versions you can use for podcasting. (Read this book online)
Blogging: Genius Strategies for Instant Web Content by Biz Stone (New Riders Publishing, 2002 ISBN 0-73571-299-9) is more about blogging in general, but includes information on creating an RSS feed to go with your blog. (Read this book online)
TechTV's Secrets of the Digital Studio: Insider's Guide to Desktop Recording by James Maguire (New Riders, 2002, ISBN 0789726866) is a complete guide to using your PC to record audio, from connections and cabling to getting your audion onto the internet.
iPod and iTunes Starter Kit, by Tim Robertson, (Que, 2005, ISBN 0789732785) and Absolute Beginner's Guide to iPod and iTunes by Brad Miser (Que, 2004, ISBN 0789731770) look at the other side of the podcasting equation, telling you everything you need to know about getting audio from iTunes into your iPod and how to manage it once it's there.
Documentation, Downloads, and Other Resources
You can, of course, find "official" documentation on RSS, but everything else is about as ad-hoc as it comes, so here are some resources you might find helpful:
- Download Audacity, a feature-rich, cross-platform, free tool for recording audio. Highly recommended.
- Podcasting 101: Illustrated Tips for Newbie Podcasters is a spectacular tutorial from ILoveRadio.org on the actual mechanics of creating and distributing audio. What I like about it is that it gives you the practical tips that professional radio people know, like "record 60 seconds of 'roomtone'", the ambient noise that's always present, in case you need to, say, fill in an audio gap.
- Dowload iPodder to test your podcasts.
- Podcast.net is a directory of RSS feeds that feature podcasts sorted by category. Like Yahoo, but for podcasts.
- Audio.weblogs.com is a list of the last 100 podcasts to ping the system. Like Weblogs.com, but for audio.
- Audioblog.com and Audlink let you create an audio blog without having to do any special programming. Like Blogger, but for talking.
- How-To: Podcasting (aka How to get Podcasts and also make your own) is another good starting place for information on getting your podcasts up and running. Like ... sorry, got carried away. :)
And finally, special thanks to: Amy Gahran for links to a lot of this information, most notably the ILoveRadio.org link.