Mark Bixby writes:
>
> GNU wget is a command-line utility for downloading HTTP or FTP files and
saving
> them as local e3000 bytestream files.  It is capable of mirroring,
recursive
> retrievals, and other way cool things.  By running wget first and saving a
web
> page locally, ANY program on your e3000 can access web pages.

Works great. I recently used it to copy an entire web site from one e3000 to
another.

> You could even use wget to invoke remote CGIs, as long as those CGIs
support
> the HTTP protocol GET command.

As an example of this my wireless phone vendor offers text messaging. Unlike
many other providers they do not provide an e-mail interface such as
[log in to unmask] but they do provide a web interface. Using wget to
invoke the CGI program on the web server I can make an e3000 send a text
message using a simple command file that invokes wget.

The possibilities for leveraging wget are endless. Some things I can think
of off the top of my head are FedEx/UPS tracking and automated product
inquiry from one of your suppliers integrated into an MPE application. You
are only limited by your imagination.

One thought regarding HTTP forms that invoke the GET method. Some CGI
scripts will work whether invoked by the GET or the POST method because they
call generic scripts to decode the CGI data. For flexibility the generic
script is set up to handle both GET and POST. So even if you encounter a web
page that explicitly is using POST, it may be worth your time to experiment
with it to see if supplying the value pairs in the URL will work.

> My thanks to Lars for doing the first port and bringing wget to my
attention.
> I do however regret not playing with wget sooner than my first experience
last
> week.  Wget is rather cool and opens up some interesting possibilities for
> online software distribution...

Absolutely.  Many thanks to Lars (and to you too Mark.)

For those unfamiliar with it, as Mark stated it is a standalone command line
utility. It does not require that your HPe3000 be set up as a web server. It
only requires an Internet connection, either direct or via a proxy server.

Doug Werth                             Beechglen Development Inc.
[log in to unmask]                               Cincinnati, Ohio