I am trying to automate the download of a bunch of csv files that are generated from a database based on which checkboxes are selected on a form. The website generates the csv file with the click of a 'Download' button. I found the URL to the download prompt using Firebug (and determined how it changes based on checkbox selection), but am unsure how to use it since it is dynamically generated and does not contain a file path. An example URL is the following:
https://www.quantcast.com/download/plannerCSV?&d0Id=10&sc=1&mr=10000
What is the best way to go about doing this? I looked into the Python mechanize module and briefly glazed over pydermonkey, but had trouble finding documentation on downloading dynamically generated files. I also found some suggestions on other forums for using VBscript and Perl-- I prefer to use Python if possible since I am most familiar with it, but if another language is more appropriate, I will learn what I need in order to accomplish this task--I just hope to do it efficiently! Comments from anyone with experience/knowledge/insight on this topic would be appreciated.
Probably the easiest way for you to do this is to use the command line tool wget. If running a UNIX/Linux it's already there. If you're running Windows then a Win32 version can can be downloaded from: http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net/packages/wget.htm
The you can use a shell/batch script that will download the file for you.
Example for Windows:
set id=10
set sc=1
set mr=10000
set my_url=https://www.quantcast.com/download/plannerCSV?&d0Id=%id%&sc=%sc%&mr=%mr%
set filename=planner.csv
wget %my_url% --output-document=%filename%
:
: do stuff with file
:
Related
MSI database contains set of tables, and I can successfully enumerate File table, which has all deployable file' meta-deta. What I need to extract is the actual contents of those files. msiexec, lessmsi, 7-zip all can do it, but I couldn't find any source/API to do it.
What I've discovered it that all other (resource) files are in Binary table, and Data field can be used to get content of those files (like icons, custom DLL etc).
Further, I found and know that Media table contains information about the .CAB file (MSI has all content embedded with <MediaTemplate EmbedCab="yes"/>. This simply means the CAB file contains the actual content. I probably need to read contents from "Structured Storage" of the .msi file.
How to extract the contents of CAB/MSI file, using native C Msi* functions?
Phil has given you the easy/simple answer but I thought I might give you a little more information since you've done some research. Checkout:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa372919(v=vs.85).aspx
This is where the structured storage is. You'll see something like Disk1.cab as the Name (PK) and binary data. The data is a CAB file with the file entry in the cab matching the File.File column. From there you can use the File.FileName column to get the short name and long name (you'll want the long name no doubt) and do a joint to the Component table to get the directory table ID.
You'll also need to recurse the directory table to build the tree of directories and know where to put the files.
Fun stuff. There's some libraries in C# that make this WAY simpler. Or just call msiexec /a as Phil says. :)
The most straightforward to extract all the files to some location is to install the product in "advertised" mode. If you do a:
msiexec /a [path to msi] TARGETDIR=[some folder]
you'll see what happens.
In C++ call MsiInstallProduct () with that command line.
You have gotten many good answers already, including the use of dark.exe from the WiX toolkit. By downloading the WiX source code you should be able to get the code you need ready-made from there. I assume you may already have done this.
Chris has already linked to the DTF code you can check, but here is a link directly to dark.exe as well: https://github.com/wixtoolset/wix3/tree/develop/src/tools/dark. I would try both. This is C#, you seem to want native.
UPDATE: Before I get to the Win32 features you can use, check out this little summary of the C# DTF features: How to programmatically read the properties inside an MSI file?
Native Win32 functions: The database functions to deal with an MSI file can be found on MSDN (this is to deal with the MSI file as a database). There are also MSI Installer Functions (used to deal with the MSI file as an actual installer).
You can certainly find good examples of native code for this with a good Google search. Have fun!
BTW: It would help with a description of the actual problem you are trying to solve as well as what you need technically. There could - as always - be less involved ways to achieve what you need. Unless you are writing a security software or malware scanner or something super-involved.
And so it is clear: WiX's dark.exe fully decompiles MSI files into WiX source files and the resource files used to build them - you can then text and binary compare the various types of content (text compare for tables, binary compare for binaries, etc...). The process to do so via command line is described in the following answer: How can I compare the content of two (or more) MSI files? (this is about comparing MSI files, but one option to do so is to decompile them - see section on dark.exe - just for reference for others who find your question).
I like to link things together so we can find content easily at a later point in time. Strictly speaking it doesn't seem necessary here, you have what you need I think but others could perhaps benefit from some further links. Here are some related links:
Extract MSI from EXE.
What is the purpose of administrative installation initiated using msiexec /a?
How do I extract files from an MSI package? (explains why you should not use 7-Zip to extract).
I am writing a script using Null Script which install around 6000 files in INSTALLDIR i.e. C:\ABC folder.
I have done this using
File /r "ABC"
in install section.
It is just a simple extractor (no registry entries and no uninstall.exe created during install).
Now, if I run the same exe again then I want my exe to display a message box to the user while overwriting the files containing the options
Yes,
Yes too all, or
exit the installer
i.e. How WinZip software does while extracting the same zip file in the same location multiple times.
If I set the SetOverwrite value to off then during install (2nd time) my EXE just skips the file installation without notifying the user. Also using IFFILEEXIST I can check a single file or *.* files but cannot do one to one mapping.
Please suggest how can I implement this. If this question is already posted then please send me the link.
Thanks in advance.
It is not possible to get this behavior in NSIS when using File /r. You might be able to pull off something similar by generating the file list at compile time by executing a batch file with !system and then check if each file exists and maybe delete the old one at run-time but you are not going to get the dialog without a custom plugin. NSIS itself only supports basic Abort/Retry/Cancel and Yes/No dialogs.
If you only want to use free tools, why not just use 7-Zip to create a self extracting archive?
I found an old windows mobile dictionary application and I want to get the database. I extract it but I don't know how to convert it to csv or sql file. Have anybody idea about it ?
You can download the file from here http://www.mediafire.com/download/z32xgmc9fia3nr2/OGD.Akilli.Sozluk.CAB
And I use Ubuntu.
SQLite makes available the C source code to compile a shell program which can be used to do this. It's apparently also included by Ubuntu. Here is the man page for the sqlite shell included with Ubuntu. Please review the documentation as there are a few ways to convert to CSV or get the schema of a table.
Alternatively, you can use a 3rd party tool to view the database in a GUI. I can't speak for Linux solutions, but Firefox has a 3rd party plugin called "SQLite Manager" that will let you use SQLite files in a GUI if you prefer it that way.
I'm trying to get some automator script going but I have no clue how to achieve it. It's like this:
in Processing I exported a batch of 1850 SVG's. These SVG's now have to be opened in an application called Cenon. This application can save SVG's as .hpgl files.
It's no problem to open a file in a specific application like Cenon when it's added to a folder. That works fine.
But how do I save this file in a specific extension like .hpgl and create a variable name? Because Cenon always opens a file with the name 'UNTITLED'.
So I need to do:
automatically open file one by one in Cenon
save file as .hpgl file
save file with variable name like (0001, 0002, 0003, 0004, 0005, etc.)
I hope someone can help me!!
Thanks in advance,
Fons.
First of all, let me make a distinction between two related technologies:
AppleEvents which are messages that can be used for different applications to communicate with each other, asking each other to do tasks.
AppleScript which is one kind of scripting language that can send and receive AppleEvents to and from Mac applications.
You can't use AppleEvents with Cenon but you still may be able to use AppleScript with Cenon. I know that you can't use AppleEvents with Cenon because I downloaded Cenon version 4.0.1 from the web and I tried to open up it's AppleEvent dictionary with the "AppleScript Editor.app" application that comes with OS X.
So, AppleEvents are out. This means the "tell" command in AppleScript can't tell the Cenon.app to do anything with AppleEvents, but you may still be able to use AppleScript.
AppleScript can be used by simulating user menu-selections and key strokes instead of using AppleEvents. Using AppleEvents would be better, but sometimes, using AppleScript, you have to go through the user interface.
An alternative to resorting to using AppleScript to simulate the user-interface (UI) would be to use a shell-command. It just seems to me that this would be a better solution, but you would have to find a Unix shell command that was compiled for Mac that would convert from .svg to .hpgl
If you really want to use AppleScript and Cenon.app, here is a link to study about using AppleScript going through the UI of an app:
http://www.macosxautomation.com/applescript/uiscripting/
AppleScript was originally designed to be a scripting language to take some of the functionality with application A, and then take some of the functionality of application B, etc, and glue it together with a little logic from AppleScript and empower the user to more easily automate their tasks.
AppleScript was designed to be an alternate user-interface, going through AppleEvents, but AppleEvents are not as widely supported as they could be by applications, so this kludgy solution of having AppleScript go through the GUI is commonly done.
Again, I think that a shell script would be a better solution for this problem and you could call is "solution.command" or you could embed the shell script into an Automator Workflow saved as an Application or embed the shell script within an AppleScript saved as an application. Either one work work.
I've got a "Project" containing a mixed set of files that my application compiles into an installable using InnoSetup. Many of the project files are system or configuration files, and not relevant to the actual install. Therefore, i want to include only the relevant files in an installer. I have a list of them in my application, but no way to inject this information into the template Inno setup script.
What options are available to achieve this?
Regards
Tris
Note: The files are too big to really be copied in a reasonable length of time. :)
sorry for being so late...and then just asking the obvious: why can't you just keep irrelevant files out of the Inno-Script? Do I understand right: you have an app that generates a setup-script for InnoSetup based on a template? Can't you then modify the app? Alternatively, any chance to edit the ISS and remove the irrelevant files?
Cheers
Michael