This is Interesting: Free Magazines for Graphics designers and webmasters
Home > Archive > Webmaster forum > January 2007 > Communicating between my desktop app and web site
You are viewing an archived Text-only version of the thread.
To view this thread in it's original format and/or if you want to reply to
this thread please [click here]
| Author |
Communicating between my desktop app and web site
|
|
| salad 2007-01-27, 11:09 pm |
| Hi. I was wondering if the following is possible. I have a desktop
application with a module for POs and Quotes. There's several vendors I
order my items from. The items I need the quote from are all located on
their web page viewable on their website catalog with pictures and
descriptions.
I would like to select the items off their web page and have their site,
after submitting the request, return the items I selected to my desktop
application with the quote price and other relevent information like the
catlog number, description, part number, etc. From there, my
application would parse it out update my system's data tables.
This would be similar to a debit card transaction. I go to the store,
select an item to purchase, I swipe the debit card, the bank gets the
dollar amount of the sale and returns back to the store the approval
codes. I'm looking for the return codes.
I envision something like selecting a vendor from the desktop
application. The application would pass to the browser the link to the
vendor site and company id, company password, and any other thing
required to log into the vendor system. I select the items and submit
the items for quote/po from the vendor's web site.
The system knows at this point who I am, who my rep is, what my discount
rate is, if they have the item in stock, what our quote/po number is,
what their quote request ID is, etc. It processes this data and returns
the result to my app.
Perhaps it isn't possibe to return the processed results to my app.
Could this data be passed to a web server on my machine (XP Pro) or to a
web server on our network which could funnel the response to the app or
to a file on the network/desktop? In other words, instead of sending me
the results back to a formatted html page it comes back as an electronic
transaction. This would be like their web server doing a submit to my
web server without human intervention.
I hope I am able to convey the concept sufficiently. Thanks for any
insight you can provide me.
| |
|
|
salad wrote:
> Hi. I was wondering if the following is possible. I have a desktop
> application with a module for POs and Quotes. There's several vendors I
> order my items from. The items I need the quote from are all located on
> their web page viewable on their website catalog with pictures and
> descriptions.
>
> I would like to select the items off their web page and have their site,
> after submitting the request, return the items I selected to my desktop
> application with the quote price and other relevent information like the
> catlog number, description, part number, etc. From there, my
> application would parse it out update my system's data tables.
>
> This would be similar to a debit card transaction. I go to the store,
> select an item to purchase, I swipe the debit card, the bank gets the
> dollar amount of the sale and returns back to the store the approval
> codes. I'm looking for the return codes.
>
> I envision something like selecting a vendor from the desktop
> application. The application would pass to the browser the link to the
> vendor site and company id, company password, and any other thing
> required to log into the vendor system. I select the items and submit
> the items for quote/po from the vendor's web site.
>
> The system knows at this point who I am, who my rep is, what my discount
> rate is, if they have the item in stock, what our quote/po number is,
> what their quote request ID is, etc. It processes this data and returns
> the result to my app.
>
> Perhaps it isn't possibe to return the processed results to my app.
> Could this data be passed to a web server on my machine (XP Pro) or to a
> web server on our network which could funnel the response to the app or
> to a file on the network/desktop? In other words, instead of sending me
> the results back to a formatted html page it comes back as an electronic
> transaction. This would be like their web server doing a submit to my
> web server without human intervention.
>
> I hope I am able to convey the concept sufficiently. Thanks for any
> insight you can provide me.
build your own?
easy
http://browserbob.com
Secretary of Altered States
Government of the Mens Room
| |
| Matt Probert 2007-01-27, 11:09 pm |
| On Sun, 21 Jan 2007 22:35:48 GMT, salad <oil@vinegar.com> wrote:
Perl has many facilities for fetching a web page. You can then parse
the returned data, feed it to your local application, and submit again
via PERL to the target web page form.
Matt
| |
| Andy Dingley 2007-01-27, 11:09 pm |
|
salad wrote:
> Hi. I was wondering if the following is possible. I have a desktop
> application with a module for POs and Quotes. There's several vendors I
> order my items from. The items I need the quote from are all located on
> their web page viewable on their website catalog with pictures and
> descriptions.
This is generally described as "screen scraping". It's an ugly process,
but so useful that a lot of it goes on. It's also highly at risk of
vendors changing their site designs and breaking your processes. There
may even be copyright issues, or what's worse a copyright non-issue
with an idiot vendor who thinks that there is.
If you possibly can, don't do it by screen scraping HTML but do it
instead by using a well-defined "web service" interface instead. This
is easier to use and more stable. The provision of a useful web service
by a vendor is sometimes enough reason to switch vendors to them.
The code to do this is often ugly, especially in Perl. Unless you're
already a skilled PERL monk, then don't use Perl. Use Python instead
and the "Beautiful Soup" HTML parser. It's vastly easier to use this
than anything comparable in Perl.
Overall, this is an awkward process and should not be attempted by the
inexperienced. Spend money on a developer who's already familiar with
doing it. There's a lot of non-obvious art in building reliable screen
scrapers.
| |
| alex_f_il@hotmail.com 2007-01-27, 11:09 pm |
| You can try SWExplorerAutomation SWEA (http://webiussoft.com). It is
very easy to create the data scraping solution using SWEA.
salad wrote:
> Hi. I was wondering if the following is possible. I have a desktop
> application with a module for POs and Quotes. There's several vendors I
> order my items from. The items I need the quote from are all located on
> their web page viewable on their website catalog with pictures and
> descriptions.
>
> I would like to select the items off their web page and have their site,
> after submitting the request, return the items I selected to my desktop
> application with the quote price and other relevent information like the
> catlog number, description, part number, etc. From there, my
> application would parse it out update my system's data tables.
>
> This would be similar to a debit card transaction. I go to the store,
> select an item to purchase, I swipe the debit card, the bank gets the
> dollar amount of the sale and returns back to the store the approval
> codes. I'm looking for the return codes.
>
> I envision something like selecting a vendor from the desktop
> application. The application would pass to the browser the link to the
> vendor site and company id, company password, and any other thing
> required to log into the vendor system. I select the items and submit
> the items for quote/po from the vendor's web site.
>
> The system knows at this point who I am, who my rep is, what my discount
> rate is, if they have the item in stock, what our quote/po number is,
> what their quote request ID is, etc. It processes this data and returns
> the result to my app.
>
> Perhaps it isn't possibe to return the processed results to my app.
> Could this data be passed to a web server on my machine (XP Pro) or to a
> web server on our network which could funnel the response to the app or
> to a file on the network/desktop? In other words, instead of sending me
> the results back to a formatted html page it comes back as an electronic
> transaction. This would be like their web server doing a submit to my
> web server without human intervention.
>
> I hope I am able to convey the concept sufficiently. Thanks for any
> insight you can provide me.
| |
| salad 2007-01-27, 11:09 pm |
| alex_f_il@hotmail.com wrote:
> You can try SWExplorerAutomation SWEA (http://webiussoft.com). It is
> very easy to create the data scraping solution using SWEA.
Thanks all to those that have responded.
I am not sure data scraping is the route I wish to pursue...unless it is
the only one.
Perhaps FTP is another possibility. For example, I enter a web site and
select the items I need a quote on in the vendors catolog pages. I
select the items I need a quote on and they'd go into a shopping cart.
The web site, if it has a logon/password, should be able to determine
who I am. Maybe a cookie is all that is required for determining that.
When I finally submit the request for a quote for all of the items I
selected, the results need to be rolled up into a file of some sort. At
this point, I need to retrieve those results.
Let's say in the vendors site my customer id is 1234. I've made 2 quote
requests before so this would be request 3. The filename created at the
vendor sight might be Quote1234-3.Txt. Instead of sending it back as a
link in the web page, can the server automatically send/upload that file
to me?
I know that I would need to collaborate with the web/IT folk at the
vendor site. But if they saw the possibilities in doing so, perhaps
they could be convinced to do something like this.
I suppose they could return a web page with a download link to the file
but the File/Open dialog box where the user has to select the folder to
save the file in can be a bit time consuming. I would prefer a solution
that has minimial human intervention.
>
> salad wrote:
>
>
>
| |
| Andy Dingley 2007-01-27, 11:09 pm |
|
salad wrote:
> I am not sure data scraping is the route I wish to pursue...unless it is
> the only one.
Of course not, but it almost certainly is.
> Perhaps FTP is another possibility.
No.
> Let's say in the vendors site my customer id is 1234. I've made 2 quote
> requests before so this would be request 3. The filename created at the
> vendor sight might be Quote1234-3.Txt. Instead of sending it back as a
> link in the web page, can the server automatically send/upload that file
> to me?
Of course it could, but the chance of it happening is implausible.
_Why_ should the vendor care? Why should they do work to suit you? Why
should they do any work to suit you, and why should it be just one
customer's choice as to what this is? No competent vendor is even
goign to consider this.
As an example of what's possible with a well-funded vendor that's keen
to support this kind of work, then sign up as a developer with Amazon
and look at their web API. It's done with well-designed "web services"
protocols such as SOAP and it's built so that one well-thought-out
solution works for all potential customers. Nor does it shift files
around by ftp.
> I know that I would need to collaborate with the web/IT folk at the
> vendor site. But if they saw the possibilities in doing so, perhaps
> they could be convinced to do something like this.
Not a hope.
| |
| salad 2007-01-27, 11:09 pm |
| Andy Dingley wrote:
> salad wrote:
>
>
>
> Of course not, but it almost certainly is.
>
>
> No.
>
>
>
> Of course it could, but the chance of it happening is implausible.
> _Why_ should the vendor care? Why should they do work to suit you?
Sales.
Why
> should they do any work to suit you, and why should it be just one
> customer's choice as to what this is? No competent vendor is even
> goign to consider this.
I wrote a computer program. If it turns out to be successful in the
marketplace, what I want can result in more sales at the vendor's
company, lots of sales. It's a "I scratch your back, you scratch mine"
scenario.
I can be shot down in an instant by a company. They can say "We can't
do that. Too much work." Fine, I'll simply ask their competitor...but
only if it can be done.
> As an example of what's possible with a well-funded vendor that's keen
> to support this kind of work, then sign up as a developer with Amazon
> and look at their web API. It's done with well-designed "web services"
> protocols such as SOAP and it's built so that one well-thought-out
> solution works for all potential customers. Nor does it shift files
> around by ftp.
>
>
>
>
> Not a hope.
>
| |
| Scott Bryce 2007-01-27, 11:09 pm |
| salad wrote:
> I wrote a computer program. If it turns out to be successful in the
> marketplace, what I want can result in more sales at the vendor's
> company, lots of sales.
It looks like you found a solution to your problem, then. Your next step
is to convince the vendor to re-write his web app. Good luck to you.
|
|
|
| | Copyright 2003 - 2008 forum4designers.com Software forum Computer Hardware reviews |
|