RE: [PHP-WIN] DOM

But I thought you said that the DOM XML wouldn't parse a normal HTML web page because 98% of web pages aren't truly XML compatible and the XML parser would die with an error message(s)? I want to be able to feed the parser any old HTML web page and read the node values from the DOM (created by the parser), just like I do with IE and Javascript. Thanks PS: I am learning slowly so don't get tooooo mad with me ;) -----Original Message----- From: Cynic [mailto:cynic@mail.cz] Sent: 14 January 2001 17:01 To: James Duncan; mstearne@entermix.com Cc: php-windows@lists.php.net Subject: RE: [PHP-WIN] DOM What you want has already been done, with two different approaches: DOM XML functions and Sablotron functions (SAX interface). Just use one of these modules in your script. At 16:28 14.1. 2001, James Duncan wrote the following: -------------------------------------------------------------- >As I'm asking stupid questions at the moment: Could someone write an >(XML/HTML?) parser for PHP that exposes the DOM in the same way as the >Javascript one does in IE 5? This would allow me to access the node elements >(#text, etc) via PHP on an HTML file stored on the server in the same way as >I can via Javascript in IE 5? Why do I want to do this? It would allow me to >download a web page, parse it into a DOM tree-structure, loop through all >#text nodes and extract all the textual data. This would make capturing >textual data from an HTML file so much easier than attempting to strip all >the HTML tags, etc. The parser would only need to support a "read" mode for >my requirements, which should simplify the parser (it wouldn't need to worry >about updating node values, etc or writing them back to the HTML file). It >sounds like a good idea to me but I might be way off course... > >This would allow all work to be performed server-side, whereas at the moment >I'm having to send the HTML file to IE, run Javascript DOM code to extract >the #text values, dump those values into a hidden field and post the data >back to the server, where PHP can process it. > >Thanks > >James > >-----Original Message----- >From: Cynic [mailto:cynic@mail.cz] >Sent: 14 January 2001 01:38 >To: James Duncan; mstearne@entermix.com >Cc: php-windows@lists.php.net >Subject: RE: [PHP-WIN] DOM > >It's not PHP vs. DOM. It's XML (DOM) vs. (bad) HTML. PHP just >provides you with an interface to an XML parser. > >www.php4win.de > > >At 01:14 14.1. 2001, James Duncan wrote the following: >-------------------------------------------------------------- >>Yikes. I'm just reading more about DOM and PHP at the moment on the >>PHPBuilder website. >> >>Does anyone have a version of PHP complied with DOM support included for >>Windows (I'm developing on a Windows system before moving it over to >Linux - >>RedHat)? >> >>So loading any old web page and trying to construct a DOM document from it >>via PHP isn't going to work? How does IE v5 manage to parse the same web >>page correctly (or what seems to be correctly)? I've already read in the >DOM >>table node elements #text and their values via Javascript in IE. >> >>Still learning lots ;) >> >>Thanks >> >>James >> >> >>-----Original Message----- >>From: Cynic [mailto:cynic@mail.cz] >>Sent: 14 January 2001 00:07 >>To: James Duncan; mstearne@entermix.com >>Cc: php-windows@lists.php.net >>Subject: RE: [PHP-WIN] DOM >> >>I should warn you that XML functions require the document to be >>very 'correct'. Most (I guess 98%... I wish browsers weren't so >>forgiving, all might've been much easier and better) of HTML >>pages on the internet basically aren't HTML (which is a son of >>SGML, and an older, heavily cripled brother of XML), and even >>strict HTML isn't XML compliant up to XHTML 1.0, which is the >>latest version of HTML, fully XML compliant. >>If you'll try to load such document into an XML parser, it'll >>die with an error message, because XML requires the document >>to be well-formed. >> >>At 00:54 14.1. 2001, James Duncan wrote the following: >>-------------------------------------------------------------- >>>Ah rite... thanks for the info. As I said I'm very new to all of this and >>>reading lots, whilst trying to make sense of it all ;) So it is possible >to >>>use PHP to access DOM elements (via the XML DOM library) created from an >>>HTML source file (a code example would be very handy)? Does anyone know if >>>an XML parser will be built into PHP in the future? I then assume I could >>>access DOM elements from an HTML file in the same easy way as I can via >>>Javascript in IE? >>> >>>Thanks >>> >>>James >>> >>> >>>-----Original Message----- >>>From: Cynic [mailto:cynic@mail.cz] >>>Sent: 13 January 2001 23:22 >>>To: James Duncan; mstearne@entermix.com >>>Cc: php-windows@lists.php.net >>>Subject: RE: [PHP-WIN] DOM >>> >>>You don't understand the basic concept. >>> >>>DOM (Document Object Model) is a tree representing the structure >>>of a document, where the elements (logically separated parts of) >>>content is enclosed within tags to allow for computerized >>>processing. IE exposes it's own version of DOM through its >>>implementations of JS. If you want to access and manipulate a HTML >>>document in PHP using this tree-like abstraction (DOM), you will >>>have to use XML DOM library. No XML parser is an integral part of >>>the language. >>> >>> >>>At 18:20 13.1. 2001, James Duncan wrote the following: >>>-------------------------------------------------------------- >>>>I don't think this will work in my case because I don't control the >layout >>>>of the HTML page and hence can't add the hidden fields. I'm downloading >>the >>>>HTML pages from a website. It would require as much work to insert the >>>>hidden fields as trying to strip the HTML tags in an attempt to read the >>>>data directly from the HTML page itself. There must be a way to access >the >>>>DOM directly from PHP? I notice in the manual there is a section >regarding >>>>XML DOM but not the DOM itself. >>>> >>>>Are the DOM values only available on the client? If that's the case then >>>PHP >>>>can't be used to read them because it's limited to the server side? >>>> >>>>Thanks >>>> >>>>James >>>> >>>>-----Original Message----- >>>>From: Michael Stearne [mailto:mstearne@entermix.com] >>>>Sent: 13 January 2001 17:06 >>>>To: James Duncan >>>>Cc: php-windows@lists.php.net >>>>Subject: Re: [PHP-WIN] DOM >>>> >>>>Could you do something like: >>>> >>>>myForm.myField.value=tablejames.firstChild.childNodes[1].childNodes[4].f i >r >>s >>>t >>>>Child.firstChild.node Value; >>>> >>>>Set up a form of hidden fields. Extract the values from the DOM and then >>>>have the user hit a Submit button to get to the next page. At that point >>>>the values that were collected and put into the hidden form fields will >be >>>>submitted and you next page (the PHP page) could INSERT the values into >>the >>>>database, >>>> >>>>Michael >>>> >>>> >>>>On Friday, January 12, 2001, at 07:30 PM, James Duncan wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hi folks, >>>>> >>>>> I'm still new to HTML, Javascript and PHP but learning (fast >hopefully). >>>>> I've just started accessing DOM elements. I have worked out how to >>update >>>>> the contents of table cells directly using this method, etc. In >>>Javascript >>>>I >>>>> would use code like: >>>>> >>>>> alert("Value is: " + >>>>> >>>>tablejames.firstChild.childNodes[1].childNodes[4].firstChild.firstChild. n >o >>d >>>e >>>>> Name); >>>>> alert("Value is: " + >>>>> >>>>tablejames.firstChild.childNodes[1].childNodes[5].firstChild.firstChild. n >o >>d >>>e >>>>> Value); >>>>> >>>>> This Javascript shows the name and value of the child element. >>>>> >>>>> Now I want to use PHP to extract data (values) from HTML pages like I >do >>>>> with the above Javascript. Is this possible? Obviously with the >>>Javascript >>>>> the HTML page has already been rendered in the browser (i.e. all tree >>>>> elements have been created). This makes extracting data a simple case >of >>>>> finding the "#text" elements and reading in the values. Can I do the >>same >>>>> thing with PHP and an HTML file I've downloaded from the Internet? >>>>Obviously >>>>> this file is sitting on my server and hasn't been rendered in a >>>browser... >>>>> >>>>> The whole point of this exercise is so that I can extract values from >an >>>>> HTML table and populate them into a database. Maybe it's easier to >>>process >>>>> the HTML file line by line and strip the unwanted HTML tags? However, >>>with >>>>> this approach I've got to hardcode each webpage... >>>>> >>>>> If this is a silly question then sorry but you only learn if you ask ;) >>>>> >>>>> Thanks >>>>> >>>>> James >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> PHP Windows Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) >>>>> To unsubscribe, e-mail: php-windows-unsubscribe@lists.php.net >>>>> For additional commands, e-mail: php-windows-help@lists.php.net >>>>> To contact the list administrators, e-mail: >php-list-admin@lists.php.net >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>>-- >>>>PHP Windows Mailing List (http://www.php.net/) >>>>To unsubscribe, e-mail: php-windows-unsubscribe@lists.php.net >>>>For additional commands, e-mail: php-windows-help@lists.php.net >>>>To contact the list administrators, e-mail: php-list-admin@lists.php.net >>>------end of quote------ >>> >>> >>> >>>____________________________________________________________ >>>Cynic: >>> >>>A member of a group of ancient Greek philosophers who taught >>>that virtue constitutes happiness and that self control is >>>the essential part of virtue. >>> >>>cynic@mail.cz >>------end of quote------ >> >> >> >>____________________________________________________________ >>Cynic: >> >>A member of a group of ancient Greek philosophers who taught >>that virtue constitutes happiness and that self control is >>the essential part of virtue. >> >>cynic@mail.cz >------end of quote------ > > > >____________________________________________________________ >Cynic: > >A member of a group of ancient Greek philosophers who taught >that virtue constitutes happiness and that self control is >the essential part of virtue. > >cynic@mail.cz ------end of quote------ ____________________________________________________________ Cynic: A member of a group of ancient Greek philosophers who taught that virtue constitutes happiness and that self control is the essential part of virtue. cynic@mail.cz