If I had to do something like that, I would simply reverse engineer a site like BigCharts options chain and use Perl to extract the raw data from the HTML page source. See: https://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/quickchart/options.asp?symb=AAPL
A bit more involved task would be to log into my Robinhood account and reverse engineer the options quote source and write an alternative code in JavaScript that downloads all the quotes I need OR write a program that automatically copies the content I need. In Windows, you can automate such things like mouse clicks and keyboard presses, so you can write a program either in VBScript or JavaScript that opens Internet Explorer, loads a site, enters username and password, waits, then clicks here and there... Copies either the page content or the page source and saves it to a file. then loads the next page and copies that one too. and so forth.. I have done stuff like that to download a list of all stock symbols and their names and CUSIP numbers from various sites. It ran for about 3 days non-stop.
For a fun automation example, here is a JavaScript program that when you double-click it in Windows, it overwrites itself, then deletes itself sort of like a virus... by sending various key presses same as if somebody stole your keyboard. lol
SELF = WScript.ScriptFullName;
WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell");
RUN("C:\\WINDOWS\\NOTEPAD.EXE " + SELF);
WINFOCUS("notepad");
WAIT(500);
PRESS("^{a}"); // CTRL+a (SELECT ALL)
TYPE("WScript.Echo"); // START TYPING
PRESS("{(}");
TYPE("'Muhahaha'");
PRESS("{)}");
TYPE(";\n");
// UNCOMMENT THESE FOR THIS SCRIPT TO ACTUALLY WORK:
//PRESS("%F"); // ALT+F
//PRESS("x"); // CHOOSE EXIT
//PRESS("{ENTER}"); // PRESS ENTER TO SAVE CHANGES.
SAY("HAHA");
ALERT("This is the self-destroying script. It's gone! :)");
function WINFOCUS(W) { WshShell.AppActivate(W); }
function WAIT(MS) { WScript.Sleep(MS); }
function RUN(CMD) { WshShell.Run(CMD, 9); }
function SAY(TEXT) { var VOICE = WScript.CreateObject("SAPI.SpVoice");
+ VOICE.Volume = 100; VOICE.Speak(TEXT); }
function EXIT() { WScript.Quit(0); }
function PRESS(KEYCODE) { WAIT(100); WshShell.SendKeys(KEYCODE); }
function TYPE(TEXT) { var i, t; for (i = 0; i < TEXT.length; i++) { t
+= TEXT.charAt(i); WAIT(20); if (i > 8) { t = TEXT.slice(i); i = TEXT.
+length; } PRESS(t); }}
function ALERT(MSG) { WScript.Echo(MSG); }
OKAY. Here is a program that actually downloads something useful. (MyPal is a port of PaleMoon web browser to Windows XP/7/10.) It reads stock symbol list from a file and then downloads an info page for each symbol, then copies the details into a text file and goes on to the next one. (Sorry, this is Windows JavaScript, not Perl, so it's slightly off-topic. But it's just to show you how to automate a very long robotic job on Windows and make it completely unattended self-processing.)
SOURCE = "http://thestockmarketwatch.com/stock/?stock=$$$";
WEB_BROWSER = "C:\\BIN\\MYPAL\\mypal.exe";
WEB_BROWSER_NAME = "mypal";
SELF = WScript.ScriptFullName;
CURRENT_DIRECTORY = cut(SELF, "\\", 0x10010);
WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell");
WordObj = WScript.CreateObject("Word.Application"); // WE USE MS-WORD
+ONLY TO READ NUMLOCK STATE.
ABC = "\n.ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ";
ALERT("NUMLOCK ON = RUN SCRIPT\n\nNUMLOCK OFF = STOP SCRIPT");
PAGE_SAVED = 0;
INPUT_FILE = CURRENT_DIRECTORY + "\\SYMBOL_LIST.TXT";
OUTPUT_FILE = CURRENT_DIRECTORY + "\\ALLCOMPETITORS.TXT";
SYMBOLS = ReadFile(INPUT_FILE).toUpperCase();
SYMBOLS = SYMBOLS.split("\r\n");
ALERT("ABOUT TO DOWNLOAD " + SYMBOLS.length + " STOCK DATA.");
for (i = 0; i < SYMBOLS.length; i++)
{
CURRENT_SYMBOL = Trim(SYMBOLS[i]);
URL = SOURCE;
URL = URL.split("$$$").join(CURRENT_SYMBOL);
if (i == 0)
{
RUN(QUOTE(WEB_BROWSER) + " " + QUOTE(URL));
WAIT(22);
WINFOCUS(WEB_BROWSER_NAME);
}
else
{
PRESS(URL);
WAIT(1);
PRESS("{ENTER}")
WAIT(18);
}
PRESS("^{a}"); // SELECT ALL
WAIT(1.5);
PRESS("^{INSERT}"); // COPY
WAIT(3);
DATA = ReadClipboardText();
Process_and_Save(DATA);
WAIT(1);
WINFOCUS(WEB_BROWSER_NAME);
PRESS("+{TAB}"); // SHIFT+TAB
WAIT(0.5);
PRESS("{TAB}"); // TAB
WAIT(0.5);
}
ALERT("DONE.");
EXIT(0);
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
function Process_and_Save(DATA)
{
var ALLOWED = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0
+123456789 \t\n_.,<>(){}[]-+=\\|'\":;?/!`~@#$%^&*";
DATA = tr(DATA, ALLOWED);
if (DATA.indexOf("Symbol Lookup") < 0) return;
if (Trim(Between(DATA, "Company Profile", "Home")) == "")
{
SAVE_LIST = CURRENT_SYMBOL + " -\r\n\r\n";
AppendFile(OUTPUT_FILE, SAVE_LIST);
return;
}
DATA = cut(DATA, "Learn", 0x101);
DATA = cut(DATA, "Home", 0x10110);
var PROFILE = cut(DATA, "Company Profile", 0x10001).split("\n").join
+(";");
var COMPETITORS = cut($a, "100% secure: your email is never shared,
+and you may opt out at any time.", 1).split("\n").join(";");
var NUMBERS = Between(DATA, "Learn", "1 day").split("\n").join(";");
var SAVE_LIST = [CURRENT_SYMBOL, PROFILE, COMPETITORS, NUMBERS].join
+("|") + "\r\n\r\n";
AppendFile(OUTPUT_FILE, SAVE_LIST);
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// This function extracts a section from string S that lies between st
+ring L and R.
// Returns an empty string if either L or R is not found.
function Between(S, L, R, SKIP)
{
if (typeof(SKIP) === "undefined") SKIP = 1;
var p1 = 0;
for (var i = 0; i < SKIP; i++)
{
p1 = S.indexOf(L, p1);
if (p1 < 0) return "";
p1 += L.length;
}
var p2 = S.indexOf(R, p1);
if (p2 <= p1) return "";
return Trim(S.substring(p1, p2));
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
// F U N C T I O N L I B R A R Y
//
function Abort_Script_If_Numlock_Is_OFF() { if (GetNumlockState() == 0
+) EXIT(0); }
function WINFOCUS(W) { Abort_Script_If_Numlock_Is_OFF(); WshShell.AppA
+ctivate(W); }
function WAIT(MS) { Abort_Script_If_Numlock_Is_OFF(); MS *= 1000; WScr
+ipt.Sleep(MS); Abort_Script_If_Numlock_Is_OFF(); }
function RUN(CMD) { Abort_Script_If_Numlock_Is_OFF(); WshShell.Run(CMD
+, 9); }
function SAY(TEXT) { Abort_Script_If_Numlock_Is_OFF(); var VOICE = WSc
+ript.CreateObject("SAPI.SpVoice"); VOICE.Volume = 100; VOICE.Speak(TE
+XT); }
function EXIT(E) { WordObj.Quit(); if (typeof(E) === "undefined") E =
+0; WScript.Quit(E); }
function QUIT(E) { WordObj.Quit(); if (typeof(E) === "undefined") E =
+0; WScript.Quit(E); }
function PRESS(KEYCODE) { WAIT(0.1); WshShell.SendKeys(KEYCODE); Abort
+_Script_If_Numlock_Is_OFF(); }
function ALERT(MSG) { WScript.Echo(MSG); }
function QUOTE(S) { return '"' + S + '"'; }
function DEBUG(S) { ALERT("DEBUG:|" + S + "|"); }
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// This function positions our window in the center of the screen.
function CENTER(W, H) { self.resizeTo(W, H); self.moveTo(Math.round((s
+creen.width - W) / 2), Math.round((screen.height - H) / 2)); }
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// Creates and overwrites a text file and with a string.
// Return 0 on success or 1 if an error occurred.
// Global variable $a will hold an error message or the
// word "SUCCESS" if there were no errors.
// Usage: INTEGER = CreateFile(FILENAME, STRING)
//
function CreateFile(FILENAME, STRING)
{
$a = "";
var inASCII = 0;
var inUNICODE = 1;
var Overwrite = 1;
var Do_Not_Overwrite = 0;
try
{
var FSO = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject");
var F = FSO.CreateTextFile(FILENAME, Overwrite, inASCII);
F.Write(STRING);
F.Close();
$a = "SUCCESS";
return 0;
}
catch (e) { $a = e.message; }
return 1;
}
// Deletes a file. Return 0 on success or an error message.
function DeleteFile(FILENAME, DELETE_READONLY) { try { FSO.DeleteFile(
+FILENAME, DELETE_READONLY); return 0; } catch(e) { return e.message;
+} }
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
function TYPE(TEXT)
{
Abort_Script_If_Numlock_Is_OFF();
var i, t;
for (i = 0; i < TEXT.length; i++)
{
t = TEXT.charAt(i);
WAIT(0.1);
if (i > 5) { t = TEXT.slice(i); i = TEXT.length; }
PRESS(t);
}
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
/*
Most ASCII characters can be represented by the character itself.
E.g, the key sequence FRED can be represented by "FRED".
Some special keys, such as the control keys, function keys etc are enc
+oded in a string enclosed by {braces}
See the table below
Key/Character SendKey Description
~ {~} Send a tilde (~)
! {!} Send an exclamation point (!)
^ {^} Send a caret (^)
+ {+} Send a plus sign (+)
Backspace {BACKSPACE} or {BKSP} or {BS} Send a Backspace keyst
+roke
Break {BREAK} Send a Break keystroke
Caps Lock {CAPSLOCK} Press the Caps Lock Key (toggle on or off
+)
Clear {CLEAR} Clear the field
Delete {DELETE} or {DEL} Send a Delete keystroke
Insert {INSERT} or {INS} Send an Insert keystroke
Cursor control arrows {LEFT} / {RIGHT} / {UP} / {DOWN} Send a
+Left/Right/Up/Down Arrow
End {END} Send an End keystroke
Enter {ENTER} or ~ Send an Enter keystroke
Escape {ESCAPE} Send an Esc keystroke
F1 through F16 {F1} through {F16} Send a Function keystroke
Help {HELP} Send a Help keystroke
Home {HOME} Send a Home keystroke
Numlock {NUMLOCK} Send a Num Lock keystroke
Page Down
Page Up {PGDN}
{PGUP} Send a Page Down or Page Up keystroke
Print Screen {PRTSC} Send a Print Screen keystroke
Scroll lock {SCROLLLOCK} Press the Scroll lock Key (toggle on
+or off)
TAB {TAB} Send a TAB keystroke
To specify keys combined with any combination of SHIFT, CTRL, and ALT
+keys, precede the key code with one or more of the following:
For SHIFT prefix with +
For CTRL prefix with ^
For ALT prefix with %
Example
' Open notepad
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run "notepad.exe", 9
' Give Notepad time to load
WScript.Sleep 500
' Type in Hello World
WshShell.SendKeys "Hello World!"
WshShell.SendKeys "{ENTER}"
' Add the date
WshShell.SendKeys "{F5}"
*/
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
// Returns the entire contents of a text or binary file.
// Usage: STRING = ReadFile(FILENAME)
//
function ReadFile(FILENAME)
{
var F, FSO, DATA = "";
try
{
FSO = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject");
F = FSO.OpenTextFile(FILENAME, 1);
DATA = F.ReadAll();
F.Close();
return DATA;
}
catch (e) {}
return "";
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// This function splits string into two parts
// along the first occurrence of substring.
// Returns the first part if CMD is 0x10.
// Returns the second part if CMD is 1.
// If substring is not found, returns the original
// string if CMD is 0x100. Ignores case when
// CMD is 0x1000. Starts searching from end of
// string when CMD is 0x10000.
//
function cut(STR, SUB, CMD)
{
if (typeof(CMD) === "undefined") CMD = 0x111;
STR += "";
SUB += "";
var P;
if (CMD & 0x1000)
P = (CMD & 0x10000) ? STR.toUpperCase().lastIndexOf(SUB) : STR.toU
+pperCase().indexOf(SUB);
else
P = (CMD & 0x10000) ? STR.lastIndexOf(SUB) : STR.indexOf(SUB);
$a = $b = "";
if (P < 0) return (CMD & 256) ? STR : "";
$a = STR.substr(0, P);
$b = STR.slice(P + SUB.length);
return (CMD & 16 ? $a : '') + (CMD & 1 ? $b : '');
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// v2021.3.15
// This function removes all characters from STR
// that do not appear anywhere in CHARSET, forcing
// string to be only made up of the given characters.
// Example: tr("cabbage cake", " abc") --> "cabba ca"
// [This function has not been optimized yet.]
// Usage: STRING = tr(STRING, STRING)
//
function tr(STR, CHARSET)
{
STR += "";
STR = STR.split("");
for (var i = 0; i < STR.length; i++)
if (CHARSET.indexOf(STR[i]) < 0)
STR[i] = "";
return STR.join("");
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// v2021.3.15
// This function returns 1 when Numlock is ON.
// Returns 0 when Numlock is OFF.
// Usage: INTEGER = GetNumlockState()
//
function GetNumlockState() { return (WordObj.NumLock) & 1; }
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// v2021.3.15
// This function returns 1 if the file exists.
// Returns 0 if the file doesn't exist.
// Usage: INTEGER = FileExists(FILENAME)
//
function FileExists(FILENAME)
{
var FSO, E = 0;
try
{
FSO = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject");
E = FSO.FileExists(FILENAME);
}
catch (e) {}
return E;
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// v2021.3.16
// This function copies all text from the clipboard.
// This is done by creating an Internet Explorer
// document in the background that contains a form
// and a textbox for input. After pasting whatever
// is on the clipboard into the textarea, we can
// reads its contents and return the string.
// This takes about 200ms.
//
// Usage: STRING = ReadClipboardText()
//
function ReadClipboardText()
{
var MSIE = WScript.CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application");
MSIE.Visible = 0;
MSIE.ToolBar = 0;
MSIE.StatusBar = 0;
MSIE.FullScreen = 1;
MSIE.Navigate("about:blank");
/*
MSIE.RegisterAsDropTarget = 0;
WScript.Sleep(100);
MSIE.Width = 600;
MSIE.Height = 400;
MSIE.Left = (MSIE.document.parentWindow.screen.availWidth - MSIE.Wid
+th) / 2;
MSIE.Top = (MSIE.document.parentWindow.screen.availHeight - MSIE.Hei
+ght) / 2;
*/
var HTML = "<HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE></HEAD><BODY onLoad='Init();'
+ SCROLL=NO><FORM NAME=MAIN><TEXTAREA NAME=INPUT COLS=20 ROWS=5></TEXT
+AREA><SCRIPT> function Init() { document.MAIN.INPUT.focus(); } </SCRI
+PT>";
WScript.Sleep(100);
MSIE.Document.open();
MSIE.Document.write(HTML);
MSIE.Document.close();
WScript.Sleep(100);
PRESS("+{INSERT}");
WScript.Sleep(150);
var TEXT = MSIE.Document.MAIN.INPUT.value + "";
WScript.Sleep(50);
MSIE.Quit();
return TEXT;
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
function uc(S) { return S.toUpperCase(); }
function lc(S) { return S.toLowerCase(); }
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// v2021.3.16
// This function adds a string to the end of a
// file in ASCII mode. Return 0 on success or
// returns 1 if something went wrong. The global
// variable $a will hold a text string "SUCCESS"
// if everything went well or an error message.
// Usage: INTEGER = AppendFile(FILENAME, CONTENT)
//
function AppendFile(FILENAME, STRING)
{
$a = "";
var ForReading = 2;
var ForWriting = 4;
var ForAppending = 8;
var inASCII_Format = 0;
var inUNICODE_Format = -1;
var Create_If_File_Doesnt_Exist = 1;
var Do_Not_Create_If_File_Doesnt_Exist = 0;
try
{
var FSO = new ActiveXObject("Scripting.FileSystemObject");
var F = FSO.OpenTextFile(FILENAME, ForAppending, Create_If_File_Do
+esnt_Exist, inASCII_Format);
F.Write(STRING);
F.Close();
return 0;
}
catch (e) { $a = e.message; }
return 1;
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
// This function removes whitespace before and after
// text T and returns a new string.
// Usage: STRING = Trim(STRING)
//
function Trim(T)
{
T += "";
var i, j, x;
for (x = i = j = 0, i--; x < T.length; x++)
if (T.charCodeAt(x) > 32)
{ if (i < 0) i = x; j = x + 1; }
return T.slice(i, j);
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
// This function is just like Trim() except it
// removes characters specified in SUBSTR.
// Usage: STRING = TrimChar(STRING, SUBSTR)
//
function TrimChar(STR, CHARLIST)
{
STR += "";
var L = STR.length, START = 0, LAST = 0;
while (L--)
{
if (CHARLIST.indexOf(STR.substr(L, 1)) < 0)
{
START = L;
if (LAST == 0) LAST = L + 1;
}
}
return STR.substring(START, LAST);
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
//
// This function strips html tags from a string
// and returns the text portion only.
// Usage: STRING = StripHTML(STRING)
function StripHTML(S)
{
var i, c, SKIP = 0, OUTPUT = [];
for (i = 0; i < S.length; i++)
{
c = S.charCodeAt(i);
if (c == 60) SKIP = 1;
if (SKIP == 0) OUTPUT.push(S.substr(i, 1));
if (c == 62) SKIP = 0;
}
OUTPUT = OUTPUT.join("");
OUTPUT = OUTPUT.replace(/\ /g, " ");
OUTPUT = OUTPUT.replace(/\&/g, "&");
OUTPUT = OUTPUT.replace(/\t/g, " ");
OUTPUT = OUTPUT.replace(/ /g, " ");
return OUTPUT;
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// This function sorts array A and removes duplicate elements.
function RemoveDuplicates(A)
{
A.sort();
var LINE, i, j = 0, prev = "";
for (i = 0; i < A.length; i++)
{
LINE = Trim(A[i]);
if (LINE == prev)
LINE = "";
else
prev = LINE;
if (LINE.length)
{ if (j < i) A[j] = LINE; j++; }
}
A.length = j;
}
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
function uc(S) { return S.toUpperCase(); }
function lc(S) { return S.toLowerCase(); }
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
// v2019.12.9
// Returns one or more words from a string.
// The string is treated as a list of words separated
// by whitespace. In this case, a "whitespace" is any
// character whose ASCII value is less than 33. This
// includes new line characters, tab, space, null, etc.
// PTR tells which word to grab starting with 1.
// If PTR is 3, the third word is returned.
// If PTR is not specified, the default value is 1.
// COUNT tells how many words to return. Default is 1.
// When COUNT has a negative value, returns every word
// from PTR all the way to the end of the string.
// The words in the return value will always be separated
// by a space character regardless of how many spaces or
// tabs were between them in the input string.
//
// Usage: STRING = GetWord(STRING, [PTR, [COUNT]])
//
function GetWord(S, PTR, COUNT)
{
S += "";
if (typeof(PTR) === "undefined") PTR = 1;
if (typeof(COUNT) === "undefined") COUNT = 1;
if (S.length == 0 || COUNT == 0 || PTR >= S.length)
return "";
if (PTR <= 0) PTR = 1;
var i, START = -1, OUTPUT = [];
for (i = 0; i <= S.length; i++)
{
if (S.charCodeAt(i) > 32)
{
if (START < 0) START = i;
continue;
}
if (START >= 0)
{
if (PTR-- < 2)
{
OUTPUT.push(S.substring(START, i));
if (COUNT-- == 1) break;
}
START = -1;
}
}
return OUTPUT.join(" ");
}
| 