Yes, Atom is quite similar to RSS, but not the same... base on what I have read on xml.com, the
Quote:
| Atom/Atom Syndication Format is the next generation of XML-based file formats, designed to allow information--the contents of web pages, for example--to be syndicated between applications. Like RSS before it, Atom places the content and metadata of an internet resource into a machine-parsable format, perfect for displaying, filtering, remixing, and archiving. |
An Atom feed contains one or more entry sections. These are just like an RSS feed's item sections. The entry section, just like the feed's main metadata section, has the obligatory id, title, updated, author, and link. It wouldn't be much use without the content, and it's highly recommended to have the summary, a "a short summary, abstract, or excerpt of the entry."
In addition to those core features, an Atom entry can contain categories and rights information, and an interesting (and unique to Atom) element called source. The source element allows for metadata about an entry's parent feed to be preserved if that entry is copied from one feed to a new one. An example of this might look like:
<source>
<id>http://example.org/</id>
<title>Fourty-Two</title>
<updated>2003-12-13T18:30:02Z</updated>
<rights>© 2005 Example, Inc.</rights>
</source>
More on the optional subelements that can be used in the entry element can be found here.