Web search macro using POST method

[paul1149]

Hello,

I have a series of macros that search the Web for the current selected text. Here's an example:

Code: Select all

Sub Brave_Lookup : site = "https://search.brave.com/search?q=" : Web_Lookup (site, token) : End Sub 

	Function Web_Lookup (site, token)
	 	oVC = ThisComponent.CurrentController.getViewCursor
		oTC = oVC.getText().createTextCursorByRange(oVC)
		oSel = oTC.string ' get selected text
		Dim SysShell As Object
   	        SysShell = createUNOService("com.sun.star.system.SystemShellExecute")
                SysShell.execute("/usr/bin/vivaldi-snapshot", site & oSel & token, 0) 'vivaldi-snapshot
	End Function

I've simplified that and hopefully have not removed anything necessary. It does work perfectly.

What I want to do now is have a macro that invokes a POST web search. Here's what I'm trying to do:

Code: Select all

https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm{POSTARGS}Criteria=%s&t=NASB95&csr=0&csrf=0&csrt=0&cscs={POSTENCODING}UTF-8

I suspect it's simple, but I don't know how to break this down and pass the extra arguments to the Web_Lookup function.

Am I going about this the right way? Thanks!

[john125wheeler]

Hello, @paul1149

Your approach is on the right track! To perform an HTTP POST request from your macro, you’ll need to modify your Web_Lookup function to handle POST requests. Let’s break it down:

Construct the URL: You’ve already defined the URL for your POST request:

Code: Select all

https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm{POSTARGS}Criteria=%s&t=NASB95&csr=0&csrf=0&csrt=0&cscs={POSTENCODING}UTF-8

Replace {POSTARGS} with the actual arguments you want to send (e.g., search criteria), and {POSTENCODING} with the appropriate encoding (usually application/x-www-form-urlencoded).
Create the HTTP request: You can use WinHttp.WinHttpRequest.5.1 to send the POST request. Here’s how you can modify your Web_Lookup function:

Code: Select all

Function Web_Lookup(site As String, token As String)
    Dim http As Object
    Set http = CreateObject("WinHttp.WinHttpRequest.5.1")
    
    ' Construct the URL with your POST arguments
    Dim url As String
    url = "https://www.blueletterbible.org/search/preSearch.cfm" & _
          "?Criteria=" & oSel & "&t=NASB95&csr=0&csrf=0&csrt=0&cscs=UTF-8"
    
    ' Open the request
    http.Open "POST", url, False
    
    ' Set any additional headers if needed (e.g., User-Agent)
    http.setRequestHeader "User-Agent", "Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0)"
    
    ' Send the request
    http.send ""
    
    ' Handle the response (you can access it via http.responseText)
    ' For example, display it in a message box:
    MsgBox http.responseText
End Function

Invoke the function: Call your modified Web_Lookup function with the appropriate site and token values.
Remember to replace placeholders like {POSTARGS} and {POSTENCODING} with actual values relevant to your search. If you need to pass specific data (e.g., JSON payload), adjust the http.send line accordingly.

Feel free to adapt this example to your specific use case.

Hope this work for you.
Best Regards,
john125wheeler

User banned (post edited to add a spam link. Post however kept since the code may be of some help (Hagar, Moderator).

[paul1149]

Thanks. That sounds like what I need. I'm getting an error on this line:

Code: Select all

Set http = CreateObject("WinHttp.WinHttpRequest.5.1")

Code: Select all

Error creating object.
Module cannot be loaded; invalid format.

I'm on LO 24.2.4.2 on Linux.

[ms777]

WinHttp.WinHttpRequest.5.1 just works on Windows machines

[ms777]

in Python, you could probably use the https://www.w3schools.com/python/ref_requests_post.asp method. I am not aware of something similar in AO Basic

[karolus]

in Python, you could probably use the https://www.w3schools.com/python/ref_requests_post.asp method. I am not aware of something similar in AO Basic

»requests« has a page on pypi and its own homepage and documentation no need to link random websites!

[paul1149]

Thanks. I'm completely unfamiliar with python and how to use it in LO.

I have a GET search set up for that site, and it works fine, but only on word and phrase searches. It breaks up Bible verse addresses into their components and return, for example, "2 and Peter and 1:13 not found" for a search for "2 Peter 1:13", whereas that search at the site itself works fine. So I thought doing the remote search via POST could be the answer. It's been a while now, but I think at the time I found the search field uses POST.

[Cormic]

Hello,
I have a solution to execute a POST request in Basic avoiding any external library.

It uses UNO Universal Content Broker, and works under Windows and Linux (I didn't test Mac OS)

An exemple is in the Calc attached file, in the module HTTPmodule.
The example URL (line 4 : POST_URL = "http://mco.s2hnh.org/") is functional (but not forever ).
Clicking on the sheet button "Tester l'envoi POST" will run the subroutine Main, which will display the POST answer.
Due to a former bug in UCB, Linux LibreOffice may send PUT request instead of POST. This bug has been corrected (in LibreOffice version 6 or 7, I am not sure). The POST answer from http://mco.s2hnh.org/ will show the parameters received (should be in MIME format application/x-www-form-urlencoded) and indicate if it was a PUT or a POST answer.

Hope it will be usefuL
Sincerely

[paul1149]

Thanks very much, @Cormic. I greatly appreciate the effort. I will take a look at this.

[Jurassic Pork]

Hello,
same result as Basic with this python macro :

Code: Select all

def HttpPostTest(*args):
    from urllib import request, parse
    url = 'http://mco.s2hnh.org/'
    data = {'A':'varA','B':'varB'}
    data = parse.urlencode(data).encode()
    req = request.Request(url, data=data)
    response = request.urlopen(req)
    MsgBox(response.read())

urllib is included in the python of LibreOffice

in Attachment a workbook with the Basic Code and the Python Code (embedded) . Works only with LibreOffice (not compatible with Python 2.7 OpenOffice)

Friendly, J.P

[Cormic]

Hello Jurassic Pork,
Thanks for the code.
Obviously, Python has some advantages compared to Basic which is really an old language, lacking a lot of modern functionnalities.
Its main advantage is that it is directly accessible into LibreOffice.
I should consider studying a bit of Python to compare with Java, which is more familiar to me.
Sincerely, Cormic

[karolus]

Hallo

@J.P: LO comes with a msgbox-modul!

Code: Select all

from urllib import request, parse
from msgbox import MsgBox, ok, cancel, SIMPLE

def messagebox( message, deko=SIMPLE, title="Read_ME" ):
    msg = MsgBox( XSCRIPTCONTEXT.ctx )
    msg.addButton( ok )
    msg.addButton( cancel )
    msg.show( message, deko, title)
    
def HttpPostTest(*args):    
    url = 'http://mco.s2hnh.org/'
    data = {'A':'varA','B':'varB'}
    data = parse.urlencode(data).encode()
    req = request.Request(url, data=data)
    response = request.urlopen(req)
    message = response.read().decode("utf8")
    message = message.replace('.','\n')
    messagebox(f"{message}")

[ms777]

@Cormic, excellent piece of code! I suggest that you add the code to your post, just that it can be easier found when somebody does a search in this forum to the functions / services you use.
One minor suggestion: You can remove the XActiveDataSink listener and replace

Code: Select all

gResponseListener = CreateUnoListener("XActiveDataSink_",    "com.sun.star.io.XActiveDataSink")

by

Code: Select all

responseStream = CreateUnoService("com.sun.star.io.Pipe")

and modify the rest accordingly. This also works
Thanks for this code,
ms777

[paul1149]

Thank you, Jurassic. I'll give this a look too. I'm particularly interested in the Python aspect.

I did reply earlier to you, but I see it didn't make it through.

[Cormic]

Thanks @ms777 for the comment. It's always nice to see your work appreciated.

I have tried your second suggestion, using

Code: Select all

responseStream = CreateUnoService("com.sun.star.io.Pipe")

but it didn't work on my machine (Win10 pro, LO 24.5.2.2).
The listener function XCommandEnv_getInteractionHandler() gets called, then XInteractionHandle_handle() and Basic send me to the error handler at label Err:

Following your first suggestion, I have created a specific post under the title "How to send an HTTP POST request from a Basic macro" in the "Code snippets" section.
Sincerely
Cormic