2.2.6.2 AtomPub Format

Atom is an XML-based document format described in [RFC4287] and extended with AtomPub specific extensions in [RFC5023]. This section uses the term AtomPub as shorthand to refer to the union of the document format rules that are defined in [RFC4287] and [RFC5023].

AtomPub describes lists of related information (a collection in the abstract AtomPub Protocol Model [RFC5023] section 4.2) known as "feeds". Feeds are composed of a number of items, known as "entries" (Entry Resources in the abstract AtomPub Protocol Model [RFC5023] section 4.2), each with an extensible set of attached metadata. For example, each entry has a title.

The following subsections define the mapping of constructs in the Entity Data Model (EDM) to Atom format elements for use in request/response messages as specified in Request Types (section 2.2.7). In all the subsections that follow, if a data model construct is not explicitly described, an associated Atom-based representation is not defined by this document. For such constructs, servers and clients MAY<58> either:

  • Define their own representations and include them in a request or response if valid according to [RFC5023].

  • Exclude them from requests and responses.

The examples in this section use the sample data model that is defined in Appendix A: Sample Entity Data Model and CSDL Document (section 6).