Try swftools, in particular swfextract. That should carry forward the linking at least.
The download is quiss.org/swftools/.
Otherwise in a pinch, you might capture the output of *nix
'strings' utility, and just look for the links to follow if intermixed as part binary and plain text output.
| [reply] |
Flash is a whole generation ahead of HTML. Try embedding a 4 way live voice chat or complicated moving graphics and sound into your web application. I love programming with Perl. Perl is gonna fade into obscurity for many web applications if it doesn't address it's deficiencies in state of the art web audio/video. | [reply] |
Flash is not a replacement for Perl since it runs on the browser side while Perl is deployed on the server side. What we need are some good libraries for generating Flash pages in Perl. By the way an alternative to Flash could be the mozilla XUL engine where you could use Perl even on the browser side of things.
| [reply] |
"Flash is not a replacement for Perl since it runs on the browser side while Perl is deployed on the server side"
Highly innaccurate. The new version of Flash most certainly does run on the server side.
| [reply] |
I agree strongly Perl needs good libraries for generating Flash pages.
| [reply] |
A 4 way live voice chat with complicated moving graphics is something that Flash would be good for. I guess you might not consider these things "useless frills," but those are the kind of things I had in mind when I wrote that phrase. Maybe there is a place "in the future" for Flash, but for now, that place is not the same as information-based websites. Commercials, games, and other distractions in Flash are fine, but again we get back to what I consider "useless frills." I'm sure many people will disagree with that label, but it describes accurately how I feel about these things.
Perhaps my head is stuck in the sand, but I believe text is here to stay. I like it a lot. And putting text in Flash just doesn't work. That's what I was complaining about, and that's something you completely ignored (or missed). I thought the original question was about exacting textual information from an entirely Flash-based website, so that's the context for my reply. I might have misread the question, but even if I did, I still stand by my statements (with regard to text-based information).
Update: Also, I don't quite understand why you brought up the point that Perl will "fade into obscurity." Perhaps you were just making some random comments, but as part of your reply it makes no sense to me. But if you want me to reply to that too, then I disagree. I think Perl still is in a very good position for "ordinary" websites. Even if there eventually is a place for the revolutionary audio/visual Flash-based site, there will still be a place for the text-based site.
| [reply] |
"Perl is gonna fade into obscurity for many web applications if it doesn't address it's deficiencies in state of the art web audio/video."
IE, if Perl remains a text based web language, it might not be important for a new generation of Image based websites. Not suggesting Perl would go away, just lose prominence in an area it is strong in if it fails to adapt to a new world.
"I think Perl still is in a very good position for "ordinary" websites." -
I agree completely, Perl is excellent for what is an ordinary website today. But, any web technology not prepared to move beyond HTML-only seems vulnerable in the relatively near future for mass market web programming. Pretty much as soon as dialup is uncommon and higher speed access is the norm. Many programmers prefer text based information for a web site. Perhaps the average person is more comfortable with a web site that more closely resembles an interctive TV experience???
| [reply] |
Flash is not very helpful for:
- low-bandwidth connections (e.g. cell phone)
- blind or otherwise disabled people
- license-free development
Ted
| [reply] |