Creating a Web-based Podcasting Interface for Eastern Illinois University Faculty and Staff

Danny Harvey & Ryan Gibson

Issues facing Podcasting•Writing XML

•Data entry errors

•Managing existing feed

•Overall complexity

Web Interface

•Eliminates coding XML

•Eliminates fatal errors to RSS feed

•Makes upload of files easy

•Managing feed is much simpler

Technologies Used

•Authentication: LDAP server

•Scripting Language: PHP

•Data Storage: MySQL

Project Resources•Centralized (in CATS accounts)

• Database

• Interface to maintain RSS feed

•Distributed (in individual users’ accounts)

• RSS feeds

• Audio file storage

Channels Data Table• id (primary key)

• title

• link

• description

• language

• copyright

• lastBuildDate

• ttl

• storage (server name)

• filepath

Items Data Table• id (primary key)

• title

• link

• description

• pubDate

• enclosure

• filesize

• filename

• releaseDate, releaseMonth, releaseYear

• channelID

Uploading Files•Use PHP ftp functions in conjunction

with channel information stored in database

•Only selected file types (mp3, aac, m4a, m4v, etc.) are allowed to upload

• Information such as publication date, file name, file size, file type, automatically generated at this point and stored in items table for RSS input with title and description input by podcaster

RSS Feed Code

•Hard Coded Channel ID

•Connect to database

•Query Channel Data

•Query Item Data

Web Interface Demo•Item Listing

•View RSS Feed

•Preview Media

•Upload Media, Update RSS Feed

•Edit Item Information

•Delete Items

•Set Release Date

Who is podcasting?

•Geology

•Music

•Examples of Spoken Middle English

•Audio and Visual e-Tour of EIU campus trees

•Frankenstein Library Project

Future of project

•Collaborative or group podcasting

•Multiple users contribute to single RSS feed

•Filtered podcast feeds

•Filter XML feed based on parameters set by the user

Questions?

•Danny Harvey (dpharvey@eiu.edu)

•Ryan Gibson (rwgibson@eiu.edu)