Jeff
While not exactly like eBay, i tried a similar scheme for a client...
a general-purpose "harvest & resolve URLs" so that all linked URLs
would be in a frame ore even a popup window (the client's window was
to remain active as the control center).
The client wanted to provide a "master control panel" to news sites
such as cnn, fox, msnbc, etc.
What I found is simply this:
If a target URL wants to thwart harvesting, it can do so quite easily, and in
such a way that it is impractical (if not impossible) to detect and
resolve by
programming"
Such things as:
metatags that reload/repoint a url
JavaScript onLoad, onUnload, timer events which do the same
hidden links, e.g. a dropdown (or other) that invokes a javascript function,
which dynamically creates and executes a link
I encountered some pretty clever ways to hide links.
You just had to analyze each page.
Then, once you had implemented a scheme, the target URL could thwart
you again. by simply changing its methods... you are always one step
(at least) behind.
It becomes increasingly complex as you traverse a hierarchy of
imbedded links where many different methods are used.
What you end up doing (or trying to do) is writing an intelligent
browser/javascript interpreter
Dick
At 10:34 AM -0500 12/15/00, Jeffry Houser wrote:
> An ecommerce site that I work on sometimes does eBay auctions. They
>want the winning bidder to be able to go to their site, plug in their name
>and auction number, have a script go out to ebay and grab the
>auction info and create an order for the person.
>
> I did some plugging around eBay in hopes that they actually encourage
>this sort of thing and I could grab the data via wddx. I found what I
>was expecting to find, which was nothing.
>
> I told the client that the first thing we would have to do was
>de-construct the eBay URLs so that we would be able to create a URL
>directly to the auction page. This could take hours, or weeks, or be
>completely hopeless. I haven't looked at eBay from a 'how do they do
>it' standpoint. Once we have the URL I can grab the page, via CFHTTP,
>and parse it out to get the necesarry information.
>
> Has anyone had any experience with this or know of any sites that
>perform similiar actions? In the past hasn't eBay tried to block 3rd
>party 'auction search' programs that automatically search their site
>for auctions? Wouldn't an attempt at deconstructing their URL's border
>on hacking?
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