On the World Wide Web, people are accustomed to using graphical browsers such as Netscape Navigator or Mosaic as their only interface for visiting remote sites, accessing up-to-date documents, and filling out forms. But graphical browsers can be limiting: the very interactivity that makes them so intuitive to use also makes them clumsy for automating tasks. If you want to get the latest weather report every few hours, track a Federal Express package online, or use a dictionary server repeatedly throughout the day, using your browser to perform the same task over and over can become cumbersome. As with any repetitive task, these applications are best done by writing a script.Web Client Programming with Perl shows you how to extend scripting skills to the Web. This book teaches you the basics of how browsers communicate with servers and how to write your own customized Web clients to automate common tasks. It is intended for those who are motivated to develop software that offers a more flexible and dynamic response than a standard Web browser.Using this book, you'll learn how to:
- Automate repetitive queries on the Web
- Detect broken hyperlinks on your site
- Write simple "robots" that traverse hyperlinks across a site, and across the Web in general
This book will be of interest to:
- Web administrators who need to automate repetitive tasks or reduce maintenance time
- UNIX shell programmers who want to interface their scripts to the Web
- Commercial software developers and consultants who need reference material for technical Web specifications and proof-of-concept examples
Most of the examples in this book use Perl, a versatile and portable language that is already familiar to many CGI programmers and UNIX power users. The book does not teach Perl, but the techniques used in the book should be easily followed by anyone with some programming background and can be adapted to whatever language you choose.
The Web browser is a wonderful tool and has opened up the Internet to a massive number of people the world over. It's graphical, easy to use and can be used for a wide range of tasks including file transfer, client-side processing and more.
And sometimes it's just not enough. Think hard for a moment or two and there's bound to be situations where it's not possible to make Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator do exactly what's required, but what can you do to fix that situation? Simple, write your own Web client.
It might seem like a daunting task, but thanks to clear and accurate instruction Web client Programming with Perl pulls out all the stops to examine the short-cuts and pitfalls of using this useful scripting language to gain more control over client-server operations.
Delving deep into subjects such as the format of the HTTP protocol, socket programming and the custom written LWP Perl libraries (which contain a comprehensive array of pre-written web-friendly utilities), author Clinton Wong unfolds the "mystery" surrounding the subject and presents a measured and ultimately invaluable guide to what can be a tricky subject.
With a chapter on adding GUIs to your creations using Tk and comprehensive appendices on a wide variety of subjects this book should be on the shelf of any Perl programmer and web scripter.
