{"id":4941,"date":"2012-09-22T00:01:00","date_gmt":"2012-09-22T00:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.technet.microsoft.com\/heyscriptingguy\/2012\/09\/22\/weekend-scripter-use-powershell-to-explore-an-rss-feed-from-a-blog\/"},"modified":"2012-09-22T00:01:00","modified_gmt":"2012-09-22T00:01:00","slug":"weekend-scripter-use-powershell-to-explore-an-rss-feed-from-a-blog","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/devblogs.microsoft.com\/scripting\/weekend-scripter-use-powershell-to-explore-an-rss-feed-from-a-blog\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekend Scripter: Use PowerShell to Explore an RSS Feed from a Blog"},"content":{"rendered":"

Summary<\/b>: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using Windows PowerShell to explore an RSS feed from the Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog.<\/p>\n

Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. It is just a few days until I speak at the Central Ohio Windows PowerShell User Group. The Scripting Wife and I will be there on October 2, 2012. For registration information and a précis of my talk, see the Central Ohio PowerShell Users Group site<\/a>.<\/p>\n

On the weekend, I like to play around with Windows PowerShell. I also like to experiment with new tea combinations. This morning I am sipping a nice Monkey Picked Oolong tea with little jasmine buds, lemon grass, and hibiscus flower. I sweetened the tea with a little bit of crushed cinnamon stick. Yum!<\/p>\n

I ran across an old blog post the other day that was written by a guy who was really pleased that Windows PowerShell enabled him to reduce a 25-line script to five lines to retrieve RSS feeds. In Windows PowerShell 3.0, that is one line. Here is the line to retrieve an RSS feed from the Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog.<\/p>\n

[xml]$hsg = Invoke-WebRequest http:\/\/blogs.technet.com\/b\/heyscriptingguy\/atom.aspx<\/p>\n

The important thing here is to ensure that I use the [xml] type accelerator to convert the returned information into an XMLDocument<\/a> object. After I have the returned information, I view it in the Windows PowerShell console. I see there is a Feed<\/b> <\/i>property as shown here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> [xml]$hsg = Invoke-WebRequest http:\/\/blogs.technet.com\/b\/heyscriptingguy\/atom<\/p>\n

.aspx<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> $hsg<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

xml                          xml-stylesheet              feed<\/p>\n

—                          ————–              —-<\/p>\n

version=”1.0″ encoding=”U… type=”text\/xsl” href=”ht… feed<\/p>\n

When I access the Feed<\/b> <\/i>property, I see a number of interesting items, the most important of which is the Entry<\/b> <\/i>property. These properties are shown here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> $hsg.feed<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

xmlns     : http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2005\/Atom<\/p>\n

lang      : en-US<\/p>\n

title     : title<\/p>\n

subtitle  : subtitle<\/p>\n

id        : http:\/\/blogs.technet.com\/b\/heyscriptingguy\/atom.aspx<\/p>\n

link      : {link, link}<\/p>\n

generator : generator<\/p>\n

updated   : 2012-09-09T00:01:00Z<\/p>\n

entry     : {entry, entry, entry, entry…}<\/p>\n

This is where Windows PowerShell 3.0 really comes in handy. I can directly access the collection of entries by using dotted notation. It is cool and powerful. In the following example, I show only the first record.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> $hsg.feed.entry<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

title     : PowerTip: Redirect PowerShell Warning Messages to a Text File<\/p>\n

link      : link<\/p>\n

id        : http:\/\/blogs.technet.com\/b\/heyscriptingguy\/archive\/2012\/09\/20\/powertip-r<\/p>\n

            edirect-powershell-warning-messages-to-a-text-file.aspx<\/p>\n

published : 2012-09-20T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

updated   : 2012-09-20T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

content   : content<\/p>\n

author    : author<\/p>\n

category  : {category, category, category, category}<\/p>\n

Of interest to me are the blog posts with their publication dates. I can easily retrieve a list of blog titles and dates as shown here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> $hsg.feed.entry | select title, published<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

title                                      published<\/p>\n

—–                                      ———<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Redirect PowerShell Warning M… 2012-09-20T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell Redirection Operators fo… 2012-09-20T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Display PowerShell Informatio… 2012-09-19T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell to Create Intelligent De… 2012-09-19T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Use Show-Command to See Power… 2012-09-18T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Create a PowerShell Scheduled Job          2012-09-18T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Examine Automatic Variables      2012-09-17T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerShell and User Access Logging         2012-09-17T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Easily Find the PowerShell 3…. 2012-09-16T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Weekend Scripter: Get Detailed PowerShe… 2012-09-16T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Quickly Find System Updates v… 2012-09-15T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Weekend Scripter: What Does a PowerShel… 2012-09-15T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Where Did that PowerShell Cmd… 2012-09-14T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Easily Unblock All Files in a Directory… 2012-09-14T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Use PowerShell to Easily Read… 2012-09-13T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell to Simplify Access to XM… 2012-09-13T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Easily Find WMI Class Schema … 2012-09-12T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell to Troubleshoot ???Provi… 2012-09-12T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

The Scripting Guy Talks About PowerShel… 2012-09-11T19:41:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Discovering PowerShell Functions 2012-09-11T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Bespoke Scripting? What Do You Want in … 2012-09-11T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Working with the Maximum Hist… 2012-09-10T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Increase PowerShell Command History to … 2012-09-10T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Two Quick Ways to Check Varia… 2012-09-09T18:59:00Z<\/p>\n

Weekend Scripter: PowerShell Saturday S… 2012-09-09T07:01:00Z<\/p>\n

One problem with the previous output is that the dates and times are a bit difficult for me to understand. I use a hash table to change the display of the date as shown here.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> $hsg.feed.entry | select title, @{LABEL=”Published”; EXPRESSION={[datetime]$_<\/p>\n

.Published} }<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

title                                      Published<\/p>\n

—–                                      ———<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Redirect PowerShell Warning M… 9\/20\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell Redirection Operators fo… 9\/20\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Display PowerShell Informatio… 9\/19\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell to Create Intelligent De… 9\/19\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Use Show-Command to See Power… 9\/18\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Create a PowerShell Scheduled Job          9\/18\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Examine Automatic Variables      9\/17\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

PowerShell and User Access Logging         9\/17\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Easily Find the PowerShell 3…. 9\/16\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Weekend Scripter: Get Detailed PowerShe… 9\/16\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Quickly Find System Updates v… 9\/15\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Weekend Scripter: What Does a PowerShel… 9\/15\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Where Did that PowerShell Cmd… 9\/14\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Easily Unblock All Files in a Directory… 9\/14\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Use PowerShell to Easily Read… 9\/13\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell to Simplify Access to XM… 9\/13\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Easily Find WMI Class Schema … 9\/12\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell to Troubleshoot ???Provi… 9\/12\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

The Scripting Guy Talks About PowerShel… 9\/11\/2012 3:41:00 PM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Discovering PowerShell Functions 9\/11\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Bespoke Scripting? What Do You Want in … 9\/11\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Working with the Maximum Hist… 9\/10\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Increase PowerShell Command History to … 9\/10\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Two Quick Ways to Check Varia… 9\/9\/2012 2:59:00 PM<\/p>\n

Weekend Scripter: PowerShell Saturday S… 9\/9\/2012 3:01:00 AM<\/p>\n

Now that I have a DateTime object instead of a simple string, I can do other things, such as show the morning and afternoon postings of the Hey Scripting Guy! Blog.<\/p>\n

PS C:\\> $hsg.feed.entry | select title, @{LABEL=”Published”; EXPRESSION={[datetime]$_<\/p>\n

.Published} } | select title, @{LABEL=”Morning\/Afternoon”; EXPRESSION={if($_.publishe<\/p>\n

d.timeofday.hours -gt 12) {“Afternoon”} ELSE {“Morning”}} } | sort ‘morning\/afternoon<\/p>\n

‘<\/p>\n

title                                      Morning\/Afternoon<\/p>\n

—–                                      —————–<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Redirect PowerShell Warning M… Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Working with the Maximum Hist… Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Discovering PowerShell Functions Afternoon<\/p>\n

The Scripting Guy Talks About PowerShel… Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Easily Find WMI Class Schema … Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Use PowerShell to Easily Read… Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Two Quick Ways to Check Varia… Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Quickly Find System Updates v… Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Where Did that PowerShell Cmd… Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Examine Automatic Variables      Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Use Show-Command to See Power… Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Display PowerShell Informatio… Afternoon<\/p>\n

PowerTip: Easily Find the PowerShell 3…. Afternoon<\/p>\n

Weekend Scripter: Get Detailed PowerShe… Morning<\/p>\n

PowerShell and User Access Logging         Morning<\/p>\n

Weekend Scripter: What Does a PowerShel… Morning<\/p>\n

Easily Unblock All Files in a Directory… Morning<\/p>\n

Create a PowerShell Scheduled Job          Morning<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell to Simplify Access to XM… Morning<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell to Troubleshoot ???Provi… Morning<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell to Create Intelligent De… Morning<\/p>\n

Bespoke Scripting? What Do You Want in … Morning<\/p>\n

Use PowerShell Redirection Operators fo… Morning<\/p>\n

Increase PowerShell Command History to … Morning<\/p>\n

Weekend Scripter: PowerShell Saturday S… Morning<\/p>\n

Another cool thing that I can do is check the tags on my blogs. To do this, I use the Category<\/b> <\/i>property from the entry object. I group based on the terms of the categories, and then sort the list. This command is shown here.<\/p>\n

$hsg.feed.entry.category | group term -NoElement | sort count –Descending<\/p>\n

The command and associated output are shown in the image that follows.<\/p>\n

\"Image<\/a><\/p>\n

That is about it for today—I need to get to work on my new Windows PowerShell book project.<\/p>\n

I invite you to follow me on Twitter<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>. If you have any questions, send email to me at scripter@microsoft.com<\/a>, or post your questions on the Official Scripting Guys Forum<\/a>. See you tomorrow. Until then, peace.<\/p>\n

Ed Wilson, Microsoft Scripting Guy<\/b> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Summary: Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, talks about using Windows PowerShell to explore an RSS feed from the Hey, Scripting Guy! Blog. Microsoft Scripting Guy, Ed Wilson, is here. It is just a few days until I speak at the Central Ohio Windows PowerShell User Group. The Scripting Wife and I will be there on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":596,"featured_media":87096,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[362,222,3,167,61,45],"class_list":["post-4941","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-scripting","tag-powershell-3","tag-rss","tag-scripting-guy","tag-using-the-internet","tag-weekend-scripter","tag-windows-powershell"],"acf":[],"blog_post_summary":"

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