Re: Mechanizing Javascript form

[perrin]

Most JavaScript hardly does anything at all as far as the server is concerned, and the server is the only thing that matters here. Just look at the script, figure out what it does (change a form value? submit another form?) and then write Perl code that does the same thing. In many cases, the JavaScript can be ignored completely.

[Roy Johnson]

In this case, the Javascript is the whole purpose of the page. Or it seems to be. I haven't fully deciphered it, but the form itself has no action attribute. It takes username and password and (somehow) authenticates the intranet user for the session.

I have to get my session authenticated so I can check that protected documents are being served. It promises to be tedious, but that's not Perl's fault.

[Cody Pendant]

Forms can exist and function without an action attribute.

Show us the page, why don't you, and let us figure out what it's doing?

The fundamental point is that a JavaScript form almost certainly doesn't do anything that an equivalent HTML form can do. The JS probably just checks that certain fields aren't empty or something like that -- checks the buttons/fields before submitting. After submitting, it's just another form.

[Roy Johnson]

More directly Perl-related is the issue I'm wrestling with right now. I'm trying to get to the page with the form, by finding the Login link on a startup page.

Here's the pertinent code. On an earlier pass, I had the commented section uncommented, so that I got a local copy of the file.

my $result = $a->get($start_page);

#open PAGE, ">top.html" or die "Could not open top.html:$!\n";
#print PAGE $result->as_string;
#close PAGE;
#die "PAGE written\n";

my $link = $a->find_link(text => 'Login')
    or die "Found no Login link\n";

The file contained this line, which is what I expected the find_link to return, but it did not find it.

<a href="PORTAL30.wwsec_app_priv.login?p_requested_url=http://yadda.ya
+dda.yadda..."><font size=-1 class="BannerSecondaryText">Login</a>

I'm tempted to say it's a bug in Mechanize, but I'm not having a good brain day, so maybe I'm just misunderstanding how find_link is supposed to work.

Update: it looks like the reason for this is broken HTML: an unclosed link earlier on the page.

[Roy Johnson]

The JS does appear to be essentially validation. At the risk of drifting away from Perl, I'll include the JS section and the form def. I appreciate the help.

The JavaScript...

<script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript">
<!--
var smtry=0;
function MM_reloadPage(init) {  //reloads the window if Nav4 resized
  if (init==true) with (navigator) {if ((appName=="Netscape")&&(parseI
+nt(appVersion)==4)) {
    document.MM_pgW=innerWidth; document.MM_pgH=innerHeight; onresize=
+MM_reloadPage; }}
  else if (innerWidth!=document.MM_pgW || innerHeight!=document.MM_pgH
+) location.reload();
}
MM_reloadPage(true);
function resetCredFields()
{
  document.Login.PASSWORD.value = "";
}

function submitForm()
{
    // Strip target without params
      targetWithParams = document.Login.target.value;
      queryStrIdx = targetWithParams.indexOf("?");
    if ( queryStrIdx > 0 )
    {
        // there is query string
        if( targetWithParams.indexOf("SMLOCALE") <= 0 ) // SMLOCALE hs
+ been defined
          document.Login.target.value = targetWithParams ;
    }
    else {
        document.Login.target.value = document.Login.target.value ;
        alert("Final Target is " +   document.Login.target.value );
    }
   // document.Login.submit();
}

function isempid (c)
{   
    submitForm();
    if((c >= "100000") && (c <= "999999")){
           alert("You have to Enter your Network UserID and password t
+o login");
    return false;
    }
    return true;
}
//-->
</script>
<script language="JavaScript1.2" type="text/javascript">
function windowHeight()
{
    if(document.all){ //IE
          availW = document.body.clientHeight;
       }
    else{ //Netscape
          availW = window.innerHeight;
       }    
    return availW;
}
</script>

...and the form...

        <form NAME="Login" METHOD="POST" onSubmit="javascript:return i
+sempid(this.USER.value);">
        <INPUT TYPE=HIDDEN NAME="SMENC" VALUE="ISO-8859-1">
        <INPUT type=HIDDEN name="SMLOCALE" value="US-EN">
                <tr> 
                  <td align="center"> 
                      <table width="400" border="0" cellspacing="0" ce
+llpadding="1">
                        <tr> 
                          <td align="center">&nbsp;</td>
                        </tr>
                        <tr> 
                          <td bgcolor="#000000"><table width="100%" bo
+rder="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0">
                              <tr bgcolor="#FFFFFF"> 
                                <td colspan="2"><table width="100%" bo
+rder="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
                                    
                                    <tr align="center" bgcolor="#CCCCC
+C"> 
                                      <td colspan="2">
                    <script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScrip
+t">
                    if (smtry)
                        document.write ('<B><font color=red>Invalid Us
+erid or Password.<br></font></b>');    
                    </script>
                    <b>Please enter your Network 
                                        Username and Password</b></td>
                                    </tr>
                                    <tr bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> 
                                      <td align="right"><b>Username</b
+></td>
                                      <td align="center"> <input name=
+"USER" type="text" id="USER" size="30" maxlength="80"> 
                                      </td>
                                    </tr>
                                    <tr bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> 
                                      <td colspan="2"><img src="images
+/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></td>
                                    </tr>
                                    <tr bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> 
                                      <td align="right"><strong>Passwo
+rd</strong></td>
                                      <td align="center"><input name="
+password" type="password" id="password" size="30" maxlength="80"></td
+>
                                    </tr>
                                    <tr bgcolor="#CCCCCC"> 
                                      <td height="10" colspan="2"><img
+ src="images/spacer.gif" width="1" height="1"></td>
                                    </tr>
                                    <tr valign="middle" bgcolor="#CCCC
+CC"> 
                    <input type=hidden name=target value="http://my.un
+ocal.com/pls/portal30_sso/portal30_sso.wwsso_app_admin.ls_login?site2
+pstoretoken=v1.1~1363~5F3F82C6798011021FC6FD5452764DC556F2283462F74ED
+DA8157273011910A6F35FCE49D515765277DEFF3C14C90177B648B52D8F9739C33FE1
+5B1437ECF6351966AEB84D56B4FFCD0F1D7BC0265D3F7385A881AE52CE9700EE4F31E
+D216152DC9142A3C9018529A11AE3E1913AE47D4A18C4EF638FB059B3C1480FFAD397
+CCFAA2C36B17AD50809F904033D583E7B137B80CA6102C2F224235805C6756859E26E
+BF2A84888FCF95F7EBFAA0402E37E161A4A4A2F7CFC52E9F9FC58B0CEB389896221EF
+3EF144558792E96083B3714B48590A7F1B0C12AD7669AAD49223BE90B97B61C3BC933
+7F341C9288960C5E4FB9FE8D3AD5D929E84">
                         <input type=hidden name=smauthreason value="0
+">
                    <input type=hidden name=smtryno value="">
                                      <td height="45" colspan="2" alig
+n="center"><input type="submit" name="Submit" value="Login"></td>
                                    </tr>
                                  </table></td>
                              </tr>
                            </table></td>
                        </tr>
                      </table>
                    </td>
                </tr>
                </form>