Web Slice

Last updated
Web Slice
Web Slice.gif
Developed by Microsoft
Latest release
0.9
Type of format Web syndication, Screen scraping
Extended from hAtom Microformat
Open format?Yes, As part of Microsoft Open Specification Promise
Website Web Slice Format Specification - Version 0.9

Web Slices are a web feed technology based on the hAtom Microformat [1] that allows users to subscribe to portions of a web page. [2] [3] [4] [5] Microsoft developed the Web Slice format, and published a specification under their Open Specification Promise. [1] The specification is not published by any independent standards body. Introduced in Internet Explorer 8 Beta 1, Web Slices can be previewed in a fly-out window. [6] As of 2012, Internet Explorer 8 and 9 were the only browsers to support Web Slices natively, although Mozilla Firefox had support via an add-on called webchunks. [7]

Contents

Implementation

A Web Slice has 9 properties: the Web Slice id, entry title, entry content, end time, alternative display source, alternative navigation, alternative update source, and time to live. [1] The 3 required properties are: the Web Slice id, entry title, and entry content.

To disable Web Slices on a web page, add: [8]

<metaname="slice"scheme="IE"content="off"/>

To specify the default web slice on a page with multiple web slices, add: [8]

<linkrel="default-slice"<!--Mustbe"default-slice"-->     type="application/x-hatom"        <!-- Must be "application/x-hatom" -->     href="id of webslice"       <!-- The ID of the web slice --> /> 

Sample Webslice

<divclass="hslice"id ="hslice-id goes here"><!-- The ID of the hSlice --><divstyle="display:none"class=<"entry-title">Title goes here</div><--Thetitle--><spanclass="ttl"style="display:none">360</span><!-- How often to refresh in minutes --><abbrclass="endtime"title="10 Jan 2020 00:00:00 UTC"></abbr><!-- When the link expires --><divclass="entry-content">         The content goes here </div>

Support

Mozilla Firefox

While Firefox does not have built in support for web slices, extensions have been created to give the ability to read web slices.

WebChunks

WebChunks is a Mozilla Firefox 3 implementation of Microsoft Webslices. It allows you to "follow" an area of a web page through a dedicated feed bookmarked in a new toolbar. With Greasemonkey, WebChunks can insert webchunks or webslices markup into any web page so the Webchunks extension handles it. [7] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Fireclip

Fireclip is a Firefox addon that lets you "clip out" parts of a website and watch them for changes. It lets you track specific parts of a website in a similar manner to web slices. [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19]

PageSlices

Pageslices was another Firefox addon that allowed not only storing parts of websites but also organizing them by adding on custom pages. [20]

Google Chrome

Google Chrome, like Firefox, does not have built in support for web slices. However, the extension API new to Chrome 4 allows extensions to be created to give the ability to relatively simply create arbitrary webslices [21] of any content from any page.

Opera

Although it was rumored that Opera 10 would have support for web slices, this did not come to pass. [22] [23] Opera does have a "widgetize" feature likened to web slices which allows web pages to be displayed on a user's desktop. [24]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Web Slice Format Specification - Version 0.9". MSDN . Microsoft . Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  2. Bishop, Todd (2008-03-05). "Microsoft shows IE8 Activities, 'WebSlices'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer . Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  3. Foley, Mary Jo (2008-03-04). "IE 8 to feature WebSlices, Activities". ZDNet. Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  4. "Web Slices". Internet Explorer 8: Features. Microsoft . Retrieved 7 February 2010.
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  6. Konigsburg, Eitan (4 February 2009). "Internet Explorer 8: Web Slices". First Look. The New York Times. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  7. 1 2 glazou (September 4, 2008). "WebChunks". Mozilla. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  8. 1 2 "Subscribing to Content with Web Slices". Microsoft . Retrieved 7 February 2010.
  9. Vadukut, Sidin (2009-01-28). "Nice try IE8, but Mozilla slices better". LiveMint . Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  10. Cabello, Percy (2008-09-08). "WebChunks: even better than the real thing". Mozilla Links. Mozilla . Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  11. Cabello, Percy (2008-03-11). "IE 8 Activities and WebSlices for Firefox". Mozilla Links. Mozilla . Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  12. Pash, Adam (2008-09-08). "WebChunks Puts Dynamic Information from Any Web Site in Your Toolbar - Firefox Extensions". Lifehacker . Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  13. Ryan (2008-03-11). "IE8 Activities & WebSlices for Firefox". Cybernetnews.com. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  14. Kashyap, Varun (2009-12-07). "How To Add 20 Best Features Of Other Browsers to Firefox | The Best Article Every day". Bspcn.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  15. Han, Ming (January 8, 2009). "Fireclip". Mozilla. Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 15 February 2010.
  16. "Fireclip - Take back the web. Piece by piece". Fireclip.awardspace.info. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  17. Purdy, Kevin (2009-01-13). "Fireclip Brings Mac-Like Web Clipping to Firefox - Downloads". Lifehacker . Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  18. Amit Agarwal (2009-01-13). "Track Specific Portions of any Web Page with FireClip". Labnol.org. Archived from the original on 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  19. "Buildling Better Webs". Slideshare.net. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
  20. "Pageslices homepage". Archived from the original on 2011-10-31.
  21. "Arbitrary Web Slices".
  22. Lipskas, Vygantas (March 17, 2009). "Rumor: Opera 10 to Include Web Slices". FavBrowser.com. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  23. Andrew (17 March 2009). "Opera 10 to Include Web Slices?". WebUpd8. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  24. Prism-like widget creator - Opera Widgets - Opera Community. My.opera.com (2009-11-19). Retrieved on 2013-07-21.

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