HTTP::Recorder(3) record interaction with websites

SYNOPSIS

This module is deprecated

It works by tagging links in a page, and then when a link is clicked looking on the submitted tag to see which link was clicked

It can not handle Javascript-created links or JS manipulation of the page so it works only for fairly static websites

For better options check out Selenium

Patchs are welcome, and I'll fix bugs as much as I can, but please don't expect me to implement new features

Using HTTP::Recorder as a Web Proxy

Set HTTP::Recorder as the user agent for a proxy, and it rewrites HTTP responses so that additional requests can be recorded.

The Proxy Script

For quick start, run the httprecorder script 

    httprecorder

This will open a local proxy on port 8080, and will dump the recorded traffic to a file named http_traffic in the current directory. use the -help parameter for usage info

Start the proxy script, then change the settings in your web browser so that it will use this proxy for web requests. For more information about proxy settings and the default port, see HTTP::Proxy.

The script will be recorded in the specified file, and can be viewed and modified via the control panel.

For better control, use this example: 

    #!/usr/bin/perl
    use HTTP::Proxy;
    use HTTP::Recorder;
    my $proxy = HTTP::Proxy->new();
    # create a new HTTP::Recorder object
    my $agent = new HTTP::Recorder;
    # set the log file (optional)
    $agent->file("/tmp/myfile");
    # set HTTP::Recorder as the agent for the proxy
    $proxy->agent( $agent );
    # start the proxy
    $proxy->start();

Start Recording

Now you can use your browser as your normally would, and your actions will be recorded in the file you specified. Alternatively, you can start recording from the Control Panel.

Using the Control Panel

If you have Javascript enabled in your browser, go to the HTTP::Recorder control URL (http://http-recorder by default), optionally type a URL into the ``Goto page'' field, and click ``Go''.

In the new window, interact with web sites as you normally do, including typing a new address into the address field. The Control Panel will be updated after each recorded action.

The Control Panel allows you to modify, delete, or save your script.

SSL sessions

As of version 0.03, HTTP::Recorder can record SSL sessions.

To begin recording an SSL session, go to the control URL (http://http-recorder/ by default), and enter the initial URL. Then, interact with the web site as usual.

Script output

By default, HTTP::Recorder outputs WWW::Mechanize scripts.

However, you can override HTTP::Recorder::Logger to output other types of scripts.

Functions

new

Creates and returns a new HTTP::Recorder object, referred to as the 'agent'.

$agent->prefix([$value])

Get or set the prefix string that HTTP::Recorder uses for rewriting responses.

$agent->control([$value])

Get or set the URL of the control panel. By default, the control URL is 'http-recorder'.

The control URL will display a control panel which will allow you to view and edit the current script.

$agent->logger([$value])

Get or set the logger object. The default logger is a HTTP::Recorder::Logger, which generates WWW::Mechanize scripts.

$agent->ignore_favicon([0|1])

Get or set ignore_favicon flag that causes HTTP::Recorder to skip logging requests favicon.ico files. The value is 1 by default.

$agent->file([$value])

Get or set the filename for generated scripts. The default is '/tmp/scriptfile'.

Bugs, Missing Features, and other Oddities

Javascript

WWW::Mechanize can't play back Javascript actions, and HTTP::Recorder doesn't record them.

Why are my images corrupted?

HTTP::Recorder only tries to rewrite responses that are of type text/*, which it determines by reading the Content-Type header of the HTTP::Response object. However, if the received image gives the wrong Content-Type header, it may be corrupted by the recorder. While this may not be pleasant to look at, it shouldn't have an effect on your recording session.

See Also

See also LWP::UserAgent, WWW::Mechanize, HTTP::Proxy.

Requests & Bugs

Please submit any feature requests, suggestions, bugs, or patches at http://rt.cpan.org/, or email to [email protected].

If you're submitting a bug of the type ``X doesn't record correctly,'' be sure to include a (preferably short and simple) HTML page that demonstrates the problem, and a clear explanation of a) what it does that it shouldn't, and b) what it should do instead.

Author

Copyright 2003-2005 by Linda Julien <[email protected]>

Maintained by Shmuel Fomberg <[email protected]>

Released under the GNU Public License.

LAST SEARCHED