HTML expect in python

[WGW]

I would like to automate some simple browser navigating using python.
Ideally, I would like a package like pyexpect, but that can handle a
browser in much the same way as pyexpect handles a terminal (tall
order!). In short, I want a macro language for a browser (I know about
the commercial packages such as Easy Bee and Internet macros, but I want
more programmability and less cost!)

ClientForms goes in the right direction. Can Grail be scripted (easily)?

What is the best way to run a browser with python? Python would have to
be able to fill in forms, send them off, click links, and so on. I don't
really care which browser it is.

Apparently, commandline python scripts can control IE.

Not sure where to find examples....

Any suggestions?
(I found the following remark:

A different flavor of client-side Python scripting is that Mark
Hammond's [ref] hard work has made possible. Internet Explorer (and WSH
[give ref]) support(s) ActiveScripting [ref] languages, including
Python. Thus, as Gilles Lenfant enumerated in private correspondence:

* Command-line Python scripts control IE (but equally well through
COM [ref]);
* Client-side scripts interpret Python embedded in HTML as well as
they do JavaScript [ref];

* "you can write 'hta' applications with full-featured Python (use
of IE5 for GUI)"
)

[D H]

WGW wrote:

I would like to automate some simple browser navigating using python.
Ideally, I would like a package like pyexpect, but that can handle a
browser in much the same way as pyexpect handles a terminal (tall
order!). In short, I want a macro language for a browser (I know about
the commercial packages such as Easy Bee and Internet macros, but I want
more programmability and less cost!)

See the mechanize module: http://wwwsearch.sourceforge.net/mechanize/
Or else you can use win32com stuff to automate internet explorer if you
really need to do it that way.

[tertius]

WGW wrote:

I would like to automate some simple browser navigating using python.
Ideally, I would like a package like pyexpect, but that can handle a
browser in much the same way as pyexpect handles a terminal (tall
order!). In short, I want a macro language for a browser (I know about
the commercial packages such as Easy Bee and Internet macros, but I want
more programmability and less cost!)

http://pamie.sourceforge.net/

[Michael Hoffman]

D H wrote:

See the mechanize module: http://wwwsearch.sourceforge.net/mechanize/

I second this, a very useful module. I've unfortunately had to change it
a little to deal with inevitably bad HTML supplied by web sites.
--
Michael Hoffman

[WGW]

Thanks for these replies -- looks like I have all I need; now it is just
a question of getting my head around the applications and doing some
testing...

Many thanks for pointers.