Podcast Software
There are many podcast software programs available to
use. Many of them are even free. Because of the
decentralized, geek adopted nature of podcasting, a
wide variety of programs are available, from large
programs with a big footprint that do many different
jobs to tiny little software packages that do the bare
minimum. A package is available for podcast
subscribers of almost any type, and more are being
created everyday.
While some podcast software is designed for home user
computers, much of it is designed to be used online.
There are many packages created so that feed
subscribers can view the podcasts they enjoy from
within a web browser. These software packages contain
both the feed reader like the home user software does,
but usually also incorporate a way to view or listen to
the podcasts online from inside the browser. Much of
this software is used at the podcast directories that
maintain listings of podcast feeds.
Another type of online podcast software is the category
of feed creators. PHP scripting is usually used to create
the RSS file that tells the feed readers where to
download the podcasts from. The scripting can either
create a hard copy of the RSS file and write it to the
server disk when the feed is updated, or it can make it
virtually. When the RSS file is generated virtually, it
doesn't actually exist on the host's server. Instead, the
address of the PHP script is distributed as the address of
the feed. When the script is accessed, it generates the
file by looking at the recent posts at the site and sends
the results to the feed subscriber.