RDX (file format)

RDX is an alternative Web feed format that is a confluence of the widely adopted RSS file format and RDF, another XML format. RDX was created to extend the functionality of RSS while maintaining the usability and readability of the RSS format. By re-introducing RDF elements to the structure of the file, RDX can be use to not only publish blog entries, news headlines or podcasts but also model mutating data.

RDX works under the assumption that data models are prone to growth change in an isomorphic process. By including RDF resources and traits, the relationship between the original RDX document and it's progeny can be reasonably assumed and associated.

The initials "RDX" have been assumed to mean:

  • Readux
  • RDF Extended
  • RSS Description Framework


== History == RDX was developed originally as an adjunct file format to the HomeKey research project. The project’s aim was to create a program that could address concerns in Ubiquitous Computing, Information Design, data organization as well as language and semantics. The project was named HomeKey for its intense use of symbols beginning with a “House” and a “Key”. HomeKey relies heavily on the use of Universal symbols and signs - with applications in personal, education, business, medical and mobile visualization and organization of heterogeneous data. The project was begun in January 2002 and lives today at http://www.homekey.cc.

The project was funded by a stipend awarded by Loyola University & the U.S. Department of Education through the FIPSE/MSEIP Grant (Minority Science & Engineering Improvement Program) in 2003. Research was done in semiology, ethnographic statistics, human computer interaction, design patterns, heuristic evaluations and topology. The code contains libraries programmed in HTML, XML, JavaScript/DOM, XSL, Actionscript, PHP, ColdFusion, Python, Perl, Java and C++.

RDX was envisioned to be the transport language inside of the system, allowing data exchange between different modules as well as textual publication of visual concepts. Moreover, RDX was meant to provide the textual corpus of converted normal web documents into a format that HomeKey could understand. Essentially a glorified meta document, RDX would also be publishable through RSS readers and viewable as XHTML in modern web browsers.

Relationships

RDX stands as a confluence of major standards to maintain interoperability with current technologies and file processors. An example of this kind of compatibility is shown by RDX validating as RSS 2.0 when the version tag is renamed to . RDX achieves standardization by using a similar hierarchy and structure as RSS including the channel and item tags.

RDX, as well, allows XHTML to be embed within a description tag. Additionally, because microformats are pure XHTML, the RDX specification permits this sort of vertical integration of code. Also, similar to the original RSS versions, RDX includes in its specification the incorporation of the file type with RDF and RDFS syntax. A practical case of this methodology is the optional inclusion of Dublin Core Metadata Initiative tags to append metadata within the RDX specified Information tags.

Because none of these inclusions are mandatory, RDX can be thought to be analogous to an overloaded RSS format.

See also

  • Microformats
  • RSS (file format)
  • Atom (standard)
  • RDF
  • RDFS (RDF Schema)