Using UrlKeys$

[Jerry Muelver]

How do I use UrlKeys$? I show a page with a couple of HTML links in it, wait for the viewer to click on a link, and then.... ? Can I grab UrlKeys$ and extract its contents or value after a link click?

Or, is there a way to use a generic processing handler for all links:

[tryagain]
link #linkhandle, "One", [dolinks]
link #linkhandle, "Two", [dolinks]

[dolinks]
print "The value of the calling link is "; #linkhandle contents$()
goto [tryagain]

or somesuch. I've got a 50-page document with a couple hundred links, and don't want to have to create a separate handler for each link. I thought UrlKey$ was going to be my salvation.

[Jerry Muelver]

Never mind -- I got it:

[tryagain]
link #one, "One", linker
html " "
link #two, "Two", linker
#two setkey("This is two")
html " "
link #quit, "Quit", linker
#quit setkey("All done!")
print
wait

sub linker key$
print key$
if key$ = "#quit" then end
end sub


Still, it would be nice to know how to use UrlKeys$....

[Chris Iverson]

UrlKeys$ is for data passed to the application through the URL, the stuff after the question mark. E.g. if you had a runbasic app named 'login', and it accepted data for 'username' and password', the URL would be:

http://localhost:8008/seaside/go/runbasicpersonal?app=login&username=me&password=secret

UrlKeys$ would hold this:

"app=login&username=me&password=secret"

EDIT: I'll post a demo tomorrow, I'm tired.

[Jerry Muelver]

Well, I almost have it. I still have a problem. I have to be able to generate handles dynamically, one handle for each link on the page, so I know which link is activating the generic handler sub. Like:

a$ = "PageOne"
link #a$, a$, linker

Can I have a handle array? #a(1), #a(2), etc.?

[Jerry Muelver]

thedarkfreak said:

UrlKeys$ is for data passed to the application through the URL, the stuff after the question mark.

Whoops. I had it backwards, and thought UrlKeys$ had the data being passed by the clicked link. Old habits, from a previous language.

[carlgundel]

jerrymuelver said:

Well, I almost have it. I still have a problem. I have to be able to generate handles dynamically, one handle for each link on the page, so I know which link is activating the generic handler sub. Like:

a$ = "PageOne"
link #a$, a$, linker

Can I have a handle array? #a(1), #a(2), etc.?

You can set the key of each link, like this.

linkNames$ = "apple cheese brocolli"
for x = 1 to 3
 a$ = word$(linkNames$, x)
 link #1, a$, genericRoutine
 #1 setkey(a$)
 print
next x
wait

sub genericRoutine key$
 if key$ = "apple" then print "iPhone"
 if key$ = "cheese" then print "stinky"
 if key$ = "brocolli" then print "eat your veggies"
end sub
Does this help?

-Carl

[Brent]

BTW, It should be pointed out that you should never pass login information to an app using the URL. If a computer is public, others could get that info from the browser's history. Also, someone could make a link to a site they control and try to get you to click on it after logging in, thus sending your info in the referrer URL to be picked out of a logfile.

[Jerry Muelver]

Carl, yup, that's it! I thought I had to set the key for each HANDLE, and didn't think it would stick if set for each KEY!

I have to golf today, so developing my app with this last missing link will have to wait a day or so. But I figure by the end of October, word of my RBPager will have leaked out to Google, and they'll be begging to buy me out.

[Chris Iverson]

I wouldn't use the URL method of passing data for something like a username and a password. I just needed an example.

Since my site would most likely be written in RB, I'd just have 'login' as a module with a Login() function, and directly pass the data to it.