External RSS to HTML?

January 27, 2006 12:49 PM

What are various methods of displaying external RSS feeds on my site?

I have a Movable Type-based site, on which I would like to feature content from another MT-based site of mine.

I figured the simplest way to do that would be to call the RSS feed, but due to various security-related issues having to with PHP interacting with external domains I'm having a hard time finding a solution that works.

I've tried to install Appnel's Feeds.App plugin, but for some reason I can't get it to work.

I don't need an MT-plugin, I just need something that works. It's been suggested that a client-side JS parser would bypass the security issue -- does this sound like it might be practical? I'm skeptical.

How have you done it?

posted by o2b to computers & internet (9 comments total)

How, specifically, is Feeds.App not working? (Won't install, gives errors, doesn't output anything?) An XML module missing, maybe?
posted by staggernation at 1:04 PM on January 27, 2006

Feeds.App throws big-time errors in MT. The documentation is fairly unhelpful when it comes to failure.
posted by o2b at 1:07 PM on January 27, 2006

Well, you could always try GetXML if you have the required modules installed. It would seem to make more sense to use a plugin designed specifically for RSS, though. Care to post any of the errors you're getting?
posted by staggernation at 1:16 PM on January 27, 2006

Here's an error I get when rebuilding a template with Feeds.App tags in it:

Can't locate XML/Elemental/Document.pm in @INC (@INC contains: /var/www/vhosts/scienceblogs.com/cgi-bin/MT/plugins/spamlookup/lib /var/www/vhosts/scienceblogs.com/cgi-bin/MT/extlib lib /usr/lib/perl5/5.8.5/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/5.8.5 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.5/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.4/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.3/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.2/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.1/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.5 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.4 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.3 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.2 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.1 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl/5.8.0 /usr/lib/perl5/site_perl /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.5/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.4/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.3/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.2/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.1/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.0/i386-linux-thread-multi /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.5 /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.4 /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.3 /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.2 /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.1 /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl/5.8.0 /usr/lib/perl5/vendor_perl .) at /var/www/vhosts/scienceblogs.com/cgi-bin/MT/extlib/MT/Telegraph/Morse/Document.pm line 8. BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /var/www/vhosts/scienceblogs.com/cgi-bin/MT/extlib/MT/Telegraph/Morse/Document.pm line 8. Compilation failed in require at /var/www/vhosts/scienceblogs.com/cgi-bin/MT/extlib/MT/Telegraph/Morse/Builder.pm line 16. BEGIN failed--compilation aborted at /var/www/vhosts/scienceblogs.com/cgi-bin/MT/extlib/MT/Telegraph/Morse/Builder.pm line 16. Compilation failed in require at /var/www/vhosts/scienceblogs.com/cgi-bin/MT/extlib/MT/Telegraph/CacheMgr.pm line 68.

I tried to parse it, and checked to make sure I'd installed all the plugin files in the right places -- as far as I can tell I have.

Hopefully I'm missing something stupid.,
posted by o2b at 1:19 PM on January 27, 2006

Ah! Staggernation -- of course! I should tell you I'm very much looking forward to a non-beta version of RightFields.
posted by o2b at 1:22 PM on January 27, 2006

It looks like the files and directories within extlib/XML from the Feeds.App distribution did not get uploaded to extlib/XML on your server. I would try re-uploading everything in the Feeds.App extlib directory in case there's other stuff missing as well.

(I hope to release RightFields 1.0 next week...)
posted by staggernation at 1:39 PM on January 27, 2006

Yowza -- you did it. I'm an idiot.

Thanks so much.
posted by o2b at 2:38 PM on January 27, 2006

People ask me this all the time...

I'm not sure if the main MeFi prohibition against self-referential posts applies here on AskMeFi, but I have blogged about this in the past.
posted by jeffbarr at 5:29 PM on January 27, 2006

That's awesome Jeff, thanks.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 11:10 AM on February 14, 2006