Re: Script-based filling of free-text entries on HTML pages

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Re^2: Script-based filling of free-text entries on HTML pages by pat_mc (Pilgrim) on Aug 12, 2008 at 20:53 UTC
Thanks for your suggestion, dwm042. Incidentally, I have a copy of the book you mention but have to admit I am only finding it moderately helpful. To the uninitiated it appears to be little more than a cookbook ... what I would prefer is a book that actually explains things (along the lines of O'Reilley's classic 'Learning Perl'). Thanks for your reply, anyway! Pat	[reply]
Re^3: Script-based filling of free-text entries on HTML pages by planetscape (Chancellor) on Aug 13, 2008 at 05:14 UTC
Perhaps you would find the book Web Client Programming with Perl, full text freely available from the O'Reilly Open Books Project, more useful than the WWW::Mechanize documentation. Update: Although personally, I found the WWW::Mechanize::Cookbook helpful. Update^2: Also, I really like using HTTP::Recorder to record a successful manual form submission. The output of HTTP::Recorder, just as with WWW::Mechanize::Shell, can be "dropped" right into your WWW::Mechanize scripts. (leira's article "Web Testing with HTTP::Recorder" contains an excellent example of how you might want to do this.) Note that if you are dealing with javascript, you might need to use Win32::IE::Mechanize. If you run into problems, try Super Searching for "mech javascript" - there are many relevant nodes here. HTH, planetscape	[reply]
Re^3: Script-based filling of free-text entries on HTML pages by whakka (Hermit) on Aug 13, 2008 at 03:40 UTC
I agree with you, and the best way is really just to dive in to the WWW::Mechanize documentation, which is very thorough and very readable, even for the uninitiated. Make lots of test scripts with the various form-filling functions - there are several ways to do it and find out what you're comfortable with. Also look at the Forms subclass and explore the methods there. Just practice!	[reply]