Subj : Re: Scripting-language for interacting with World Wide Web? To : comp.os.linux,comp.os.linux.misc,comp.os.linux.questions From : William Park Date : Tue Jun 22 2004 01:03 am Baard Ove Kopperud wrote: > I'm in need of a scripting-language/library/extension that enables > me to make scripts for non-interactive interaction with World Wide Web > (web-pages). What I need is something like a cross between 'wget' > and 'expect'. > > I know there was something for 'perl' called 'elza', but as far as > I can understand, work on 'elza' stopped ages ago. The primary > download-site is also closed (gone commercial)... all I found was > an old(?) version at Debian. > > Does anyone know if 'elza' is still being worked on? Are there > any similar tools out there (for 'perl' or other languages)? > Are there any specilized lanuages (e.g. based on LISP, Forth,...)? > An ability to handle other protocols (FTP, NNTP, POP, IMAP, SMTP) > would be a pluss. > > To help you suggest something suitable, here is a range of intended usage: > *Automatic log-in to accounts for web-based services to prevent > deletion. Would require correct handling of cookies and secure > connections. I intend to make a list of URL and username/password > pairs for the script to parse. The script could be run by cron. > (That I don't *use* what I have signed-up for once long, long ago, > don't mean I want to loose my account :-). > *Downloading multi-chaptered stories from various sites (e.g. > fanfiction.net) automatically after specifying a story-id. Some > of the site requires log-in. > *Automatically downloading a range of messages from various Yahoo-groups > (and similar services). Requires log-in. > *Automatically download web-based mail (e.g. Yahoo). As soon as you write a script, they'll change the interface which breaks your script. The very reason why they make it so labour-intensive, is to prevent what you're trying to do with automated script. :-) -- William Park, Open Geometry Consulting, No, I will not fix your computer! I'll reformat your harddisk, though. .