Probably a dumb question

mtarby · Jul 12, 2004

Let me preface by saying, this is my first crack at doing anything with XML.

I'm trying to create a rss feed based on our site's news database content. My first problem is that some of the entries in the database contain html characters - the two I don't know how to escape or encode (if I'm using the correct term - I've discovered that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing) are and <a href>

For instance, this is the error I'm currently getting:

Code:

End tag 'description' does not match the start tag 'br'. Error processing resource '[URL unfurl="true"]http://www.lemoyne.edu/admission/rss/news.xml'.[/URL] Line 26, Position 451

Is it possible to do? Is there a resource someone could direct me to for future reference?

Thanks in advance for any help/direction!

Michelle

jel · Jul 12, 2004

This is caused by the fact that rules for xml are stricter then for html. It is possible to write html that is also valid xml, but usually it is not.
The problem is that xml consists of nested nodes, like:
<A>
Hallo
<C/>
</A>
In html you can write:
<body>
blabla
 
blabla
</body>
In xml that is illegal, because a node is opened but never closed.

If you cant control the way the html in the database is created, don't try and treat it as xml: it isn't.

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Probably a dumb question

mtarby

Programmer

jel

Programmer

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