The Code

This is a little program (getap.pl) I wrote to repurpose news from an AP Wire feed:

#!/usr/bin/perl -w
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# copyright Dean Peters © 2003 - all rights reserved
# http://www.HealYourChurchWebSite.org
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# getap.pl is free software. You can redistribute and modify it
# freely without any consent of the developer, Dean Peters, if and
# only if the following conditions are met:
#
# (a) The copyright info and links in the headers remains intact.
# (b) The purpose of distribution or modification is non-commercial.
#
# Commercial distribution of this product without a written
# permission from Dean Peters is strictly prohibited.
# This script is provided on an as-is basis, without any warranty.
# The author does not take any responsibility for any damage or
# loss of data that may occur from use of this script.
#
# You may refer to our general terms & conditions for clarification:
# http://www.healyourchurchwebsite.com/archives/000002.shtml 
# 
# For more info. about this code, please refer to the following article:
# http://www.healyourchurchwebsite.com/archives/000760.shtml
#
# combine this code with crontab for best results, e.g.:
# 59 * * * * /path/to/scriptname.pl > /dev/null
#
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------

use XML::RSS;
use LWP::Simple;

# get content from feed -- using 10 attempts.
# replace the URL with whatever feed you want to get. 
my $content = getFeed("http://www.goupstate.com/apps/pbcs.dll/".
                       "section?Category=RSS04&mime=xml", 10);

# save off feed to a file -- make sure you
# have write access to file or directory.
saveFeed($content, "newsfeed.xml");

# create customized output.
my $output = createOutput($content, 8);

# save it to your include file.
saveFeed($output, "newsfeed.inc.php");

# download the feed in question.
# accepts two inputs, the URL, and
# the number of times you wish to loop.
sub getFeed {
    my ($url, $attempts) = @_;
    my $lc = 0; # loop count
    my $content;
    while($lc < $attempts) {
        $content = get($url);
        return $content if $content;
        $lc += 1; sleep 5;
    }

    die "Could not retreive data from $url in $attempts attempts";
}

# saves the converted data ($content)
# to final destination ($outfile).
sub saveFeed {
    my ($content, $outfile) = @_;
    open(OUT,">$outfile") || die("Cannot Open File $outfile");
    print OUT $content; close(OUT);
}

# parses the XML file and returns
# a string of custom content. You
# can pass the number of items you'd
# like as the second argument.
sub createOutput {
    my ($content, $feedcount) = @_;

    # new instance of XML::RSS
    my $rss = XML::RSS->new;

    # parse the RSS content into an output
    # string to be saved at end of parsing.
    $rss->parse($content);
    my $title = $rss->{channel}->Post RSS Headlines on Your Site;
    my $output  = '<div class="title">GoUpstate/AP NewsWire</div>';
       $output .= '<div class="newsfeed">\n';

    my $i = 0; # begin our item loop.
    foreach my $item (@{$rss->{items}}) {
        next unless defined($item->Post RSS Headlines on Your Site) && defined($item->{link});
        $i += 1; next if $i > $feedcount; # skip if we're done.
        $output .= "<a href=\"$item->{link}\">$item->Post RSS Headlines on Your Site</a><br />\n";
    }

    # if a copyright and link exists, then post it.
    my $copyright = $rss->{channel}->{copyright};
    my $link = $rss->{channel}->{link};
    my $description = $rss->{channel}->{description};
    $output .= "<a href=\"$link\" title=\"$description\" >".
               "$copyright</a>\n" if($copyright && $link);
    $output .= "</div>";
    return $output;
}