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<h1>Appcast examples</h1>
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Downloads examples}}


==Contributors==
This is a page for documenting real world examples of web publishing about downloads as part of the effort to develop a [[downloads]] microformat for authors and publishers to markup software (application, plugin, perhaps even operating system) downloads that they create and publish.


* [[User:AndyMabbett|Andy Mabbett]]
Per the microformats [[process]]:
* [[User:DenisDefreyne|Denis Defreyne]]
* [[downloads-examples]]
* [[downloads-formats]]
* [[downloads-brainstorming]]


==Examples==
==Examples==
<!--pages featuring software downloads-->


==Existing schemas==
===Download.com===


===PAD===
====Attributes====
<dl>
<dt>Application Name</dt><dd>Name of the application</dd>
<dt>Current Version</dt><dd>Version of the application.</dd>
<dt>Tagline</dt><dd>A short description of the application.</dd>
<dt>Download link</dt><dd>Link to application download.</dd>
<dt>File size</dt><dd>Approximate size of download in MB.</dd>
<dt>License</dt><dd>License for software. May include price.</dd>
<dt>Editor's Rating</dt><dd>Editor's rating out of five stars.</dd>
<dt>Average User Rating</dt><dd>Rating out of five stars.</dd>
<dt>Downloads</dt><dd>Total number of downloads.</dd>
<dt>Requirements</dt><dd>A list of compatible operating systems.</dd>
<dt>Limitations</dt><dd>Restrictions on use of the software.</dd>
<dt>Date added</dt><dd>The date when download.com started listing the application.</dd>
<dt>Product description</dt><dd>Long form description of application.</dd>
<dt>Screenshots</dt><dd>Links to screenshots of the application.</dd>
</dl>


Portable Application Description (PAD) is an XML format:
===Versions (wfx_Versions)===
Versions (formerly wfx_Versions) is a Firefox addon for tracking and downloading versions. It has several attributes similar to Download.com above (i.e. Application Name, Application Homepage, Download link and Last Known Version). Versions uses the other attributes (*) to scrape the scan page for the current version of the application. The screen scraping process could be eliminated by using the tagged attributes of a download microformat.


<blockquote>What is PAD? PAD is the Portable Application Description, and it helps authors provide product descriptions and specifications to online sources in a standard way, using a standard data format that will allow webmasters and program librarians to automate program listings. PAD saves time for both authors and webmasters. For more, see the PAD FAQ. [http://198.63.208.118/pad/]</blockquote>
====Attributes====
<dl>
<dt>Application Name
<dd>Name of the application
<dt>* Scan page link
<dd>Link to page to be scanned (scraped) for version
<dt>Application Homepage
<dd>Link to application homepage
<dt>Download link
<dd>Link to direct download
<dt>* Start Scan String
<dd>Unique string for starting scan of page
<dt>* Before Version String
<dd>String immediately before version
<dt>* After Version String
<dd>String immediately after version
<dt>Last Known Version
<dd>Last version recorded by Versions during a previous scan
</dl>
===Mozilla Addons===


[http://groups.google.com/group/uk.net.web.authoring/browse_thread/thread/40f6766f7fc76793/cac367289eebe35b?lnk=st&q=shareware+schema+author%3AMabbett&rnum=1#cac367289eebe35b Microformats & Pad were discussed on Usenet in March 2006]
*Extension (single instance) e.g. [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/722 NoScript]
**Extension version history (multiple instances of one app) e.g. [https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addons/versions/722 NoScript history]


===Appcast===
====Attributes====


Quoted from the [http://connectedflow.com/appcasting/ Connected Flow Appcast page]:
<dl>
<dt>Extension name</dt><dd>The name of the extension.</dd>
<dt>Extension version</dt><dd>A numerical version number.</dd>
<dt>Extension author</dt><dd>Who created the extension with a link to their Addons profile.</dd>
<dt>Works with</dt><dd>Compatibility listing of browser(s) the plugin should work with.</dd>
<dt>Preview/Logo</dt><dd>An icon or screenshot(s) for the plugin.</dd>
<dt>Install now</dt><dd>Link to XPI file for installation (Mozilla browsers only).</dd>
<dt>Developer comments</dt><dd>Description of the plugin or installation instructions.</dd>
<dt>Version History</dt><dd>List of plugin releases with version numbers and release dates (with a link to complete revision history).</dd>
<dt>Reviews</dt><dd>A list of user-submitted reviews.</dd>
<dt>Discussions</dt><dd>A list of user-created discussions.</dd>
</dl>


:Appcasting is the practice of using the 'enclosure' feature of RSS 2.0 feeds to deliver updates and release notes for new software applications.
----


===Appcast + Sparkle===
===iusethis===


[http://sparkle.andymatuschak.org/ Sparkle], an application update framework, uses appcasts as described above, but adds several new features. An appcast with Sparkle extensions can, for example, have MD5 sums and DSA signatures.
* Download page, e.g. http://osx.iusethis.com/app/peek-a-boo
** Version history or release notes
** Lists older downloads when you click on the current version number.
* [http://blog.iusethis.com/ Supports auto-updating its database with appcasts], also generates appcasts, e.g. http://osx.iusethis.com/appcast/igtd
** Every download page has a related appcast RSS feed (with autodiscovery)


===DOAP===
iusethis provides RSS appcasts with Sparkle extensions. For example:


[http://usefulinc.com/doap/ DOAP (Description Of A Project)] is a way of describing open-source projects. It has a <code>file-release</code> property which can be used for describing application updates.
<code><pre><?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss xmlns:blogChannel="http://backend.userland.com/blogChannelModule"
    xmlns:iusethis="http://osx.iusethis.com/ns/rss"
    xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
    xmlns:sparkle="http://www.andymatuschak.org/xml-namespaces/sparkle"
    version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Appcast for iGTD</title>
    <link>http://osx.iusethis.com/app/igtd</link>
    <description>version history with a sparkle via iusethis.com</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <iusethis:universal>1</iusethis:universal>
    <iusethis:homepage>http://bargiel.home.pl/iGTD/</iusethis:homepage>
    <iusethis:developer>bartek:bargiel</iusethis:developer>
    <iusethis:usecount>517</iusethis:usecount>
    <iusethis:tags>GTD productivity get things done</iusethis:tags>
    <sparkle:appLicense>Freeware</sparkle:appLicense>
    <item>
      <title>iGTD 1.4.5.5</title>
      <link>http://osx.iusethis.com/app/versions/7961#ver_35136</link>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>... appcast description goes here ...</p>]]></description>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">35136</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:31:55 -0000</pubDate>
      <enclosure url="http://bargiel.home.pl/downloads/iGTD.dmg" type="application/octet-stream"/>
      <sparkle:shortVersionString>1.4.5.5</sparkle:shortVersionString>
    </item>
    <!-- ... more appcast items go here .. -->
  </channel>
</rss></pre></code>
 
Some notes about the RSS appcast:
 
* <code>sparkle:appLicense</code> is something iusethis-specific, something the iusethis team seems to have made up. No idea why they are using the sparkle namespace here...
* <code>sparkle:shortVersionString</code> seems to be used instead of <code>sparkle:version</code>, and I'm not sure why.
 
====Attributes====
 
<dl>
<dt>Application Name</dt><dd>Name of the application</dd>
<dt>Homepage URL</dt><dd>Link to homepage</dd>
<dt>Download URL</dt><dd>Link to file download</dd>
<dt>Appcast (Optional)</dt><dd>Link to Sparkle-RSS feed.</dd>
<dt>Developer (optional)</dt><dd>Name of the developer.</dd>
<dt>License</dt><dd>Dropdown list of these options: Freeware, Shareware, GPL, LGPL, BSD License, Charityware, Other Open Source, Commercial with demo</dd>
<dt>Keywords</dt><dd>Comma-separated list of keywords.</dd>
<dt>Description</dt><dd>Description of the application.</dd>
<dt>Universal binary</dt><dd>True/False for Intel/PPC compatibility.</dd>
<dt>Icon</dt><dd>32x32 pixel application icon.</dd>
<dt>Screenshot</dt><dd>Image of the application.</dd>
</dl>
 
----
 
===VersionTracker===
 
* Download page, e.g. http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/3410
** Does not have a direct download link, but a link to a separate page that starts the download
** Has a version history section
** Does not list older downloads
** Has a system requirements section
 
====Attributes====
 
<dl>
<dt>Application Name</dt><dd>Name of the application</dd>
<dt>Application Icon</dt><dd>Name of the application</dd>
<dt>Tagline</dt><dd>A short description of the application.</dd>
<dt>Current Version</dt><dd>Version of the application.</dd>
<dt>Developer Link</dt><dd>Link to developer homepage.</dd>
<dt>Developer Name</dt><dd>Name of application developer.</dd>
<dt>Rating</dt><dd>Rating out of five stars (per version).</dd>
<dt>Release date</dt><dd>Date of software release.</dd>
<dt>License</dt><dd>License for software.</dd>
<dt>Price</dt><dd>Price of software.</dd>
<dt>Downloads</dt><dd>Downloads listed separately for current version and overall.</dd>
<dt>Download link</dt><dd>Link to application download.</dd>
<dt>File size</dt><dd>Approximate size of download in MB.</dd>
<dt>Product description</dt><dd>Long form description of application.</dd>
<dt>What's new in this version</dt><dd>Unordered list of changes in the current version.</dd>
<dt>Operating system requirements</dt><dd>An unordered list of compatible operating systems.</dd>
<dt>Screenshots</dt><dd>Links to screenshots of the application.</dd>
</dl>
 
----
 
===MySQL Downloads===
 
* Download page, e.g. http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/mysql/5.0.html
** Very big page with downloads with different applications, architectures, OSes, etc
** Does not list older downloads
** No version history or release notes
 
----
 
===MacUpdate===
 
* Download page, e.g. http://macupdate.com/info.php/id/10225/yum
** Has a version history section
** Does not list older downloads
** Has a direct download link
** Has a system requirements section
 
====Attributes====
 
<dl>
<dt>Application Title</dt><dd>Name of the application.</dd>
<dt>Application Icon</dt><dd>Icon for the application (64x64px).</dd>
<dt>Version</dt><dd>Version of the application.</dd>
<dt>Version history</dt><dd>Description of previous versions of the application.</dd>
<dt>Download link</dt><dd>Link to application download.</dd>
<dt>Short description</dt><dd>Short description of application (one-line).</dd>
<dt>Description</dt><dd>Long form description of application.</dd>
<dt>Requirements</dt><dd>An unordered list of compatible operating systems.</dd>
<dt>Keywords</dt><dd>List of keywords for the application.</dd>
<dt>Category</dt><dd>Single-selection from a rather extensive list of categories.</dd>
<dt>License</dt><dd>License for software; values: free, demo, shareware, commercial, updater.</dd>
<dt>Price</dt><dd>Price of software (USD).</dd>
<dt>OS</dt><dd>Classic OS and/or OS X.</dd>
<dt>Architecture (aka Platform)</dt><dd>PPC and/or Intel</dd>
<dt>Developer Name</dt><dd>Name of application developer.</dd>
<dt>Developer Link</dt><dd>Link to developer homepage.</dd>
<dt>Product URL</dt><dd>Link to external application homepage.</dd>
<dt>Developer Email</dt><dd>Email address of application developer.</dd>
<dt>Developer Phone</dt><dd>Phone number of application developer.</dd>
<dt>Screenshot</dt><dd>Links to a screenshot of the application.</dd>
<dt>Downloads</dt><dd>Downloads listed separately for current version and overall.</dd>
<dt>File size</dt><dd>Approximate size of download.</dd>
<dt>Release date</dt><dd>Date of software release.</dd>
<dt>Rating</dt><dd>Rating out of five stars (per version).</dd>
</dl>
 
----
 
===WordPress Plugins===
 
WordPress generates plugin pages from a [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/about/readme.txt readme.txt] file included with the plugin. It has its own [http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/about/validator/ validator] and format standards.
 
====Attributes====
 
<dl>
<dt>Plugin name</dt><dd>The name of the plugin.</dd>
<dt>Authors</dt><dd>Author field from the plugin file and Contributors field from the readme file.</dd>
<dt>Version</dt><dd>Version field from the plugin file.</dd>
<dt>Tags (as in categories)</dt><dd>Tags field from the readme file.</dd>
<dt>Last updated time</dt><dd>Time of last check in to the appropriate directory (trunk/ or the stable tag directory) after a version number change.</dd>
<dt>Creation time</dt><dd>Time of first check in.</dd>
<dt>Rating</dt><dd>A rating up to five stars.</dd>
<dt>Download link</dt><dd>The URL to download the plugin zip file.</dd>
<dt>Description</dt><dd>The description of the plugin.</dd>
</dl>
 
'''From readme.txt'''
 
<dl>
<dt>Contributors</dt><dd>WordPress.org usernames of contributors.</dd>
<dt>Donate link</dt><dd>Link for receiving donations.</dd>
<dt>Tags</dt><dd>Comma-separated list of keywords.</dd>
<dt>Requires at least</dt><dd>WordPress version requirements.</dd>
<dt>Tested up to</dt><dd>The latest version of WordPress the plugin was tested against.</dd>
<dt>Stable tag</dt><dd>The stable branch of the plugin to use.</dd>
<dt>Description</dt><dd>This is the long description.  No limit, and you can use Markdown.</dd>
<dt>Installation</dt><dd>This section describes how to install the plugin and get it working. Typically an ordered list.</dd>
<dt>Frequently Asked Questions</dt><dd>Questions and answers about the plugin.</dd>
<dt>Screenshots</dt><dd>An ordered list of screenshot descriptions; screenshot image files should be located in the same directory as readme.txt and named screenshot-#.(png|jpg|jpeg|gif).</dd>
</dl>


==Related pages==
==Related pages==
*[[appcast-brainstorming]]
 
* [[downloads]]
* [[downloads-brainstorming]]
* [[downloads-formats]]

Latest revision as of 16:21, 18 July 2020


This is a page for documenting real world examples of web publishing about downloads as part of the effort to develop a downloads microformat for authors and publishers to markup software (application, plugin, perhaps even operating system) downloads that they create and publish.

Per the microformats process:

Examples

Download.com

Attributes

Application Name
Name of the application
Current Version
Version of the application.
Tagline
A short description of the application.
Download link
Link to application download.
File size
Approximate size of download in MB.
License
License for software. May include price.
Editor's Rating
Editor's rating out of five stars.
Average User Rating
Rating out of five stars.
Downloads
Total number of downloads.
Requirements
A list of compatible operating systems.
Limitations
Restrictions on use of the software.
Date added
The date when download.com started listing the application.
Product description
Long form description of application.
Screenshots
Links to screenshots of the application.

Versions (wfx_Versions)

Versions (formerly wfx_Versions) is a Firefox addon for tracking and downloading versions. It has several attributes similar to Download.com above (i.e. Application Name, Application Homepage, Download link and Last Known Version). Versions uses the other attributes (*) to scrape the scan page for the current version of the application. The screen scraping process could be eliminated by using the tagged attributes of a download microformat.

Attributes

Application Name
Name of the application
* Scan page link
Link to page to be scanned (scraped) for version
Application Homepage
Link to application homepage
Download link
Link to direct download
* Start Scan String
Unique string for starting scan of page
* Before Version String
String immediately before version
* After Version String
String immediately after version
Last Known Version
Last version recorded by Versions during a previous scan

Mozilla Addons

  • Extension (single instance) e.g. NoScript

Attributes

Extension name
The name of the extension.
Extension version
A numerical version number.
Extension author
Who created the extension with a link to their Addons profile.
Works with
Compatibility listing of browser(s) the plugin should work with.
Preview/Logo
An icon or screenshot(s) for the plugin.
Install now
Link to XPI file for installation (Mozilla browsers only).
Developer comments
Description of the plugin or installation instructions.
Version History
List of plugin releases with version numbers and release dates (with a link to complete revision history).
Reviews
A list of user-submitted reviews.
Discussions
A list of user-created discussions.

iusethis

iusethis provides RSS appcasts with Sparkle extensions. For example: 

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss xmlns:blogChannel="http://backend.userland.com/blogChannelModule"
     xmlns:iusethis="http://osx.iusethis.com/ns/rss"
     xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
     xmlns:sparkle="http://www.andymatuschak.org/xml-namespaces/sparkle"
     version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Appcast for iGTD</title>
    <link>http://osx.iusethis.com/app/igtd</link>
    <description>version history with a sparkle via iusethis.com</description>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <iusethis:universal>1</iusethis:universal>
    <iusethis:homepage>http://bargiel.home.pl/iGTD/</iusethis:homepage>
    <iusethis:developer>bartek:bargiel</iusethis:developer>
    <iusethis:usecount>517</iusethis:usecount>
    <iusethis:tags>GTD productivity get things done</iusethis:tags>
    <sparkle:appLicense>Freeware</sparkle:appLicense>
    <item>
      <title>iGTD 1.4.5.5</title>
      <link>http://osx.iusethis.com/app/versions/7961#ver_35136</link>
      <description><![CDATA[<p>... appcast description goes here ...</p>]]></description>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">35136</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 09 Aug 2007 09:31:55 -0000</pubDate>
      <enclosure url="http://bargiel.home.pl/downloads/iGTD.dmg" type="application/octet-stream"/>
      <sparkle:shortVersionString>1.4.5.5</sparkle:shortVersionString>
    </item>
    <!-- ... more appcast items go here .. -->
  </channel>
</rss>

Some notes about the RSS appcast:

  • sparkle:appLicense is something iusethis-specific, something the iusethis team seems to have made up. No idea why they are using the sparkle namespace here...
  • sparkle:shortVersionString seems to be used instead of sparkle:version, and I'm not sure why.

Attributes

Application Name
Name of the application
Homepage URL
Link to homepage
Download URL
Link to file download
Appcast (Optional)
Link to Sparkle-RSS feed.
Developer (optional)
Name of the developer.
License
Dropdown list of these options: Freeware, Shareware, GPL, LGPL, BSD License, Charityware, Other Open Source, Commercial with demo
Keywords
Comma-separated list of keywords.
Description
Description of the application.
Universal binary
True/False for Intel/PPC compatibility.
Icon
32x32 pixel application icon.
Screenshot
Image of the application.

VersionTracker

Attributes

Application Name
Name of the application
Application Icon
Name of the application
Tagline
A short description of the application.
Current Version
Version of the application.
Developer Link
Link to developer homepage.
Developer Name
Name of application developer.
Rating
Rating out of five stars (per version).
Release date
Date of software release.
License
License for software.
Price
Price of software.
Downloads
Downloads listed separately for current version and overall.
Download link
Link to application download.
File size
Approximate size of download in MB.
Product description
Long form description of application.
What's new in this version
Unordered list of changes in the current version.
Operating system requirements
An unordered list of compatible operating systems.
Screenshots
Links to screenshots of the application.

MySQL Downloads

MacUpdate

Attributes

Application Title
Name of the application.
Application Icon
Icon for the application (64x64px).
Version
Version of the application.
Version history
Description of previous versions of the application.
Download link
Link to application download.
Short description
Short description of application (one-line).
Description
Long form description of application.
Requirements
An unordered list of compatible operating systems.
Keywords
List of keywords for the application.
Category
Single-selection from a rather extensive list of categories.
License
License for software; values: free, demo, shareware, commercial, updater.
Price
Price of software (USD).
OS
Classic OS and/or OS X.
Architecture (aka Platform)
PPC and/or Intel
Developer Name
Name of application developer.
Developer Link
Link to developer homepage.
Product URL
Link to external application homepage.
Developer Email
Email address of application developer.
Developer Phone
Phone number of application developer.
Screenshot
Links to a screenshot of the application.
Downloads
Downloads listed separately for current version and overall.
File size
Approximate size of download.
Release date
Date of software release.
Rating
Rating out of five stars (per version).

WordPress Plugins

WordPress generates plugin pages from a readme.txt file included with the plugin. It has its own validator and format standards.

Attributes

Plugin name
The name of the plugin.
Authors
Author field from the plugin file and Contributors field from the readme file.
Version
Version field from the plugin file.
Tags (as in categories)
Tags field from the readme file.
Last updated time
Time of last check in to the appropriate directory (trunk/ or the stable tag directory) after a version number change.
Creation time
Time of first check in.
Rating
A rating up to five stars.
Download link
The URL to download the plugin zip file.
Description
The description of the plugin.

From readme.txt

Contributors
WordPress.org usernames of contributors.
Donate link
Link for receiving donations.
Tags
Comma-separated list of keywords.
Requires at least
WordPress version requirements.
Tested up to
The latest version of WordPress the plugin was tested against.
Stable tag
The stable branch of the plugin to use.
Description
This is the long description. No limit, and you can use Markdown.
Installation
This section describes how to install the plugin and get it working. Typically an ordered list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions and answers about the plugin.
Screenshots
An ordered list of screenshot descriptions; screenshot image files should be located in the same directory as readme.txt and named screenshot-#.(png|jpg|jpeg|gif).

Related pages

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