<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 TRANSITIONAL//EN">
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; CHARSET=UTF-8">
<META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="GtkHTML/3.32.2">
</HEAD>
<BODY>
Thanks for the reply. <BR>
<BR>
Note that this application requires the POST of a webpage, not just passing parameters in the GET of a URL. That POST behavior varies based on the execution of the Javascript. EG the Submit button invokes this complex blob of Javascript that alters the target destination based on the State of the campground and the phase of the moon and who know what else. <BR>
<BR>
Thus a tool which detects that a stock page accessed via only a URL wouldn't work. <BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
On Sun, 2018-01-14 at 10:27 -0600, Preston Boyington via Ale wrote:
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">In the past I've used Distill web monitor plugin (Chrome), Follow That Page (website), and Changedetect (website).</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Not exactly what you may have been looking for and possibly will give you false positives.</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Preston</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">On January 13, 2018 1:16:34 PM Neal Rhodes via Ale <ale@ale.org> wrote:</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Boring "Real-World Details":</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">So, we are planning a summer trip to Glacier National Park in Montana. </FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">We would really like to camp at Many Glaciers Campground in the park. However, at present, all the sites are already reserved. They are reserved through recreation.gov, starting 6 months to the day from today. </FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">But we have a really strong impression that people initially book a long stretch, then later either reduce the duration once they get more specific plans, or cancel. </FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">SO, we really want to detect if/when sites become available over the next 6 months and jump on it before someone else does. </FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">There is someone who offers this as a service for $40 a reservation, irrespective of whether they are successful.</FONT><BR>
<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Exciting Technology Application: </FONT><BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Initially I looked at the HTML for their search page, with the thought of using "wget" to simulate the reservation request. That increasingly looks like a fool's errand, assuming that they may have session cookies related to sign-on and other magic handshake crap that would be difficult to simulate. And what happens when they alter their data fields? </FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Then I thought: All I want to do is: </FONT><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Setup a browser window on our Centos 6 desktop, any browser that understands https;</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Run that browser through the responses to get it to the search window on this campground, and put in all the dates and related input. </FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Then: </FONT><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Run SOMETHING that will automate: </FONT><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Hit the Search Submit button;</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">See if the resultant page contains "No Suitable availability"</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">IF Not: Email me</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Sleep 15 minutes</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Rinse, Later, Repeat</FONT><BR>
<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">This sounds to me like a very elemental application of a test/control manager for a GUI interface. If I can automate an existing browser, we can eliminate all the complexities of trying to fake out their web server. </FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Since this just sits on my desk in the basement, I can live with hard-coded screen coordinates. </FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">What tools exist in Linux to do this? </FONT><BR>
<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">regards, </FONT><BR>
<BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Neal Rhodes</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">MNOP Ltd</FONT><BR>
<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">_______________________________________________</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">Ale mailing list</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000"><A HREF="mailto:Ale%40ale.org">Ale@ale.org</A></FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000"><A HREF="http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale">http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale</A></FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000">See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at</FONT><BR>
<FONT COLOR="#000000"><A HREF="http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo">http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo</A></FONT><BR>
<BR>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE>
<PRE>
_______________________________________________
Ale mailing list
<A HREF="mailto:Ale@ale.org">Ale@ale.org</A>
<A HREF="http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale">http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo/ale</A>
See JOBS, ANNOUNCE and SCHOOLS lists at
<A HREF="http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo">http://mail.ale.org/mailman/listinfo</A>
</PRE>
</BLOCKQUOTE>
<BR>
</BODY>
</HTML>