[newbie] Is Python what I'm looking for?

[Cameron Laird]

In article <CA5C130C634642CA.B87023D35E2DCD8F.96B77A4E7CDD4B29 at lp.airnews.net>,
Cameron Laird <claird at starbase.neosoft.com> wrote:
>In article <19eteugnbcppsh0s1kj7gvjr3jvtvfldt2 at 4ax.com>,
>Giulio Cespuglio  <giulio.agostini.remove.this at libero.it> wrote:
>>Hi there,
>>
>>My aim is to automatically get specific pieces of information from a
>>website, simulating the behaviour of a user filling in HTML forms and
>>clicking buttons (a web robot?), then embed them in my HTML page.
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>>Can you think of a better way of doing this? Another scripting
>>language perhaps?
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>Python's a fine language to use for such automations.
>While there are also special-purpose ones that make
>such chores even easier, they're available only with
>stiff license fees.
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A private correspondent asked about the state-of-the-art
in spidering.  I don't know.  I know Perl's libwww has
been and remains popular, and I know that a lot of people
"roll" their own from rather low-level materials, including
libwww and various Python modules.  I have a soft spot for
the commercial NQL product <URL: http://www.nqli.com/nql.htm >,
and Sash <URL: http://sash.alphaworks.ibm.com/ > ought to be
great in this role, although I haven't used it so.
-- 

Cameron Laird <Cameron at Lairds.com>
Business:  http://www.Phaseit.net
Personal:  http://starbase.neosoft.com/~claird/home.html