PadCaster is a command line tool that converts MacPAD application description files to RSS 2.0 feeds. A MacPAD file describes one application; it contains the same information as is found in a versiontracker posting. Thus, the feed PadCaster produces provides RSS software update notifications. Fraser Speirs coined the term Appcast for such feed.
PadCaster is an easy way to provide an Appcast feed for your app while patching into existing MacPAD goodness.
If your RSS aggregator supports scripts-as-feeds, then PadCaster lets you get an update feed for any app that has an associated MacPAD file. This would be a lot cooler if more applications supported MacPAD. Still, many applications listed at MacShareware.net do already support MacPAD, and you can discover URLs for MacPAD files by clicking "Modify Listing" on MacShareware.net postings. The excellent NetNewsWire 2 supports scripts-as-feeds.
From the command line,
--verbose spits out warnings that a developer producing an rss file for
public consumption would be interested in. The output is formatted such that
it will show up as warnings and errors in Xcode's build window if PadCaster is
used in a shell script build phase.
To use PadCaster from within NetNewsWire 2,
File > New Special Subscription > Script...Subscribe to script: sheet.Args field of the Script Settings pane of the feed info.Type from Applescript to Shell (Perl, Python, etc.).
