Server-side RSS Readers

Posted on September 11, 2009 | Category: Informational, Open-Source, RSS, Resources, Reviews, Scripts, Server, Web Applications, server-side

A server-side RSS feed reader is a collection of scripts formed into an application that parses feed into visually manageable formats. The main distinction for a server-side reader is that it is installed on configured for use on a home or third-party webserver. I tried out a few of the more popular applications. Here is what I learned.

4th (LAST) Place * Rnews – Tried for about 10 minutes to create a user/login for the site without success.

3rd Place * Tiny tiny rss – Requires Javascript to view pages. Required to login to view feeds or no login options leaves add/remove feeds open to random visitors. Populates 24 tables in MySQL.

2nd Place * Gregarious – Installation is a bit clunky and there were a couple of permissions problems and errors during install even after a chmod 777 to the directory. After configuring the dbinit.php (database settings file) the user navigates to the installation homepage and has to immediately create the admin user and password. The INSTALL file does not warn the user of this. I spent a couple of minutes trying to figure out where the username and password information was posted…. Not the most secure method of installation. Many great admin configuration options such as cookie deletion and input tag filtering with a total of 11 MySQL tables.

Plugins Page

1st Place * Moonmoon – This application is technically classified as a feeed aggregator. It boasts a “stupidly simple” interface that does not archive feeds. It simply posts all articles on one page and calls it good. There are few adminstrative options, but it is extremely effective.