Connect to RSS Feeds from Blazor Apps

Blazor is a framework for developing modern, client-side web UIs using .NET technology. Instead of coding in JavaScript, developers can use the familiar C# language and .NET libraries to build app UIs.

The CData ADO.NET Provider for RSS can be used with standard ADO.NET interfaces, such as LINQ and Entity Framework, to interact with live RSS feeds. Since Blazor supports .NET Core, developers can use CData ADO.NET Providers in Blazor apps. In this article, we will guide you to build a simple Blazor app that talks to RSS using standard SQL queries.

Install the CData ADO.NET Provider for RSS

CData ADO.NET Providers allow users to access RSS just like they would access SQL Server, using simple SQL queries.

Install the RSS ADO.NET Data Provider from the CData website or from NuGet. Search NuGet for "RSS ADO.NET Data Provider."

Create a RSS-Connected Blazor App

Start by creating a Blazor project that references the CData ADO.NET Provider for RSS

1. Create a Blazor project on Visual Studio.
2. From the Solution Explorer, right click Dependencies, then click Add Project Reference.
3. In the Reference Manager, click the Browse button, and choose the .dll file of the installed ADO.NET Provider (e.g. System.Data.CData.RSS.dll, typically located at C:\Program Files\CData\CData ADO.NET Provider for RSS\lib etstandard2.0).

SELECT RSS Feeds from the Blazor App

1. Open the Index.razor file from the Project page.
2. In a RSSConnection object, set the connection string:

   You can connect to RSS and Atom feeds, as well as feeds with custom extensions. To connect to a feed, set the URL property. You can also access secure feeds. A variety of authentication mechanisms are supported. See the help documentation for details.

   For example: URI=http://broadcastCorp/rss/;

3. The code below creates a simple Blazor app for displaying RSS feeds, using standard SQL to query RSS just like SQL Server.

         @page "/"
         @using System.Data;
         @using System.Data.CData.RSS;
         
         <h1>Hello, world!</h1>
         
         Welcome to your Data app.
         
         <div class="row">
             <div class="col-12">
         
                 @using (RSSConnection connection = new RSSConnection(
                   "URI=http://broadcastCorp/rss/;"))
                 {
                     var sql = "SELECT Pubdate, Author FROM RSSFeed";
                     var results = new DataTable();
         
                     RSSDataAdapter dataAdapter = new RSSDataAdapter(sql, connection);
                     dataAdapter.Fill(results);
         
                     <table class="table table-bordered">
                         <thead class="thead-light">
                             <tr>
                                 @foreach (DataColumn item in results.Rows[0].Table.Columns)
                                 {
                                     <th scope="col">@item.ColumnName</th>
                                 }
                             </tr>
                         </thead>
                         <tbody>
                             @foreach (DataRow row in results.Rows)
                             {
                                 <tr>
                                     @foreach (var column in row.ItemArray)
                                     {
                                         <td>@column.ToString()</td>
                                     }
                                 </tr>
                             }
                         </tbody>
                     </table>
                 }
             </div>
         </div>
       

4. Rebuild and run the project. The ADO.NET Provider renders RSS feeds as an HTML table in the Blazor app.

   At this point, you have a RSS-connected Blazor app, capable of working with live RSS feeds just like you would work with a SQL Server instance. Download a free, 30-day trial and start working with live RSS feeds in your Blazor apps today.