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dayve
Forum Moderator
USA
5820 Posts |
 Posted - 02 January 2005 : 21:48:03
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I found this online feature that allows you to create a dynamic image based off an XML feed. I didn't think it was a big deal until I started realizing that this is not your typical dynamic signature. This one actually fades in and out text on the image. The other thing is the image has a typical graphic extension (.gif) but I am thinking they modified their web server to treat this extension differently and not as a true image.
Anyway, here is a sample of the image:
And here is the url:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/DayvesBlog.gif
So, how do you think this is accomplished, and is there any way to do it with .NET? |
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Edited by - dayve on 02 January 2005 21:57:28 |
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laser
Advanced Member
Australia
3859 Posts |
Posted - 02 January 2005 : 23:39:40
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| I think it's just an animated GIF - there are only 5 headlines, which don't seem to change. |
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dayve
Forum Moderator
USA
5820 Posts |
Posted - 03 January 2005 : 00:13:04
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quote:
Originally posted by laser
I think it's just an animated GIF - there are only 5 headlines, which don't seem to change.
trust me, they change. as soon as I make a new entry in my blog, it will show. |
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Da_Stimulator
DEV Team Forum Moderator
USA
3373 Posts |
Posted - 03 January 2005 : 01:34:36
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| So what you're saying, I'm sitting here staring at the .gif; meanwhile you're posting a blog entry, it will update without refresh? |
-Stim |
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dayve
Forum Moderator
USA
5820 Posts |
Posted - 03 January 2005 : 08:18:41
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quote:
Originally posted by Da_Stimulator
So what you're saying, I'm sitting here staring at the .gif; meanwhile you're posting a blog entry, it will update without refresh?
no. if I update my blog and you're already looking at the image, it will not automatically update, if you refresh it will. BUT, the image name does not change, it works just like any other dynamic image except it fades in and out with new information and the extension is a .gif, not typical of a normal dynamic image which usually points to a web application.
take a look at this thread: http://forum.snitz.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=55636 - it's not the first time I brought this up, but lately I am interested in the technology that drives it. Here is the Snitz one I generatated awhile ago. I am posting this one because Snitz topics get updated more often than my blog.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/ActiveTopicsOnSnitzForums2000.gif
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Edited by - dayve on 03 January 2005 08:29:50 |
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Da_Stimulator
DEV Team Forum Moderator
USA
3373 Posts |
Posted - 03 January 2005 : 12:01:59
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| maybe its just an application that reads the rss, and when there's an update, generates an image and saves it as a .gif |
-Stim |
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dayve
Forum Moderator
USA
5820 Posts |
Posted - 03 January 2005 : 13:08:49
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quote:
Originally posted by Da_Stimulator
maybe its just an application that reads the rss, and when there's an update, generates an image and saves it as a .gif
it's done too quickly for that. I've configured my IIS to execute any type of extension I wanted in the past. in fact at one time all my forum pages were changed from .asp to .nin . I feel the same thing is happening here, but I'm interested in how the graphic is created. as soon as I make a new entry, the graphic will indeed change. I guess it's hard to explain what is really happening unless you see the changes yourself. the service is free and if you have an rss feed on your forum, I would say check it out so you can get an idea of what is actually happening. |
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laser
Advanced Member
Australia
3859 Posts |
Posted - 03 January 2005 : 15:27:24
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dayve, I can see where you're heading, but re-configuring the listener would affect every GIF on the site. (I think you know that anyway).
Ever thought of contacting them & see if they'll tell you ?  |
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ruirib
Snitz Forums Admin
Portugal
26364 Posts |
Posted - 03 January 2005 : 16:16:58
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I think it's not an image, indeed. If you visit their site, this is the URL to the sample image shown:
<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/BurnThisRSS2?format=sig" height="67" width="200" border="0" title="This is the Headline Animator for Burning Questions - our support blog"/>
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Snitz 3.4 Readme | Like the support? Support Snitz too |
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redbrad0
Advanced Member
USA
3725 Posts |
Posted - 03 January 2005 : 17:07:31
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It seems to load way to fast for it to go out and fetch the RSS feed everytime you request a image but it would almost have to. On a .gif image can you send a portion of the image to the browser and have it display as it is trying to gather the rest of the image? Lets say you request the image and it sends you the button but does not load to the next frame until it recieves it's data.
I think they would have to have changed .gif files to be handled by another application to do this, only way I could see it being done because there software can not check if a feed has updated every 5 seconds to update the gif image to keep it always current. It would take way to me resources if they have alot of feeds to create images for. |
Brad
Oklahoma City Online Entertainment Guide
Oklahoma Event Tickets |
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dayve
Forum Moderator
USA
5820 Posts |
Posted - 03 January 2005 : 17:27:26
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quote:
Originally posted by laser
dayve, I can see where you're heading, but re-configuring the listener would affect every GIF on the site. (I think you know that anyway).
did you notice the images are using a subdomain? IIS can be configured to handle .gif with the subdomain therefore not affecting the normal .gif's on the main site. |
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redbrad0
Advanced Member
USA
3725 Posts |
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