empireoflight Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 Hi, first time visitor here! Hope I can get some help, and maybe help out too. I'm trying to collect data from a site that changes periodically. I want a script that will get a number from the url and store it to be used in an app I will build. The number I want to get is the wait time in minutes for popular local restaurants. The structure of the html on the site is like: <tr> <td>Four Seasons</td> <td>DiCaprio's</td> </tr> <tr> <td> <img src='/images/down.png'>18 min</td> <td> <img src='/images/up.png'>27 min</td> </tr> etc. The down.png and up.png files indicate whether the time has gone up or down since the last check. I could use that too, I guess, but I really don't need it since the script will show whether the time is up or down. I'm not sure exactly how often the site is updated, but I figure a check every 10 minutes or so would suffice. Any help in writing a script to do this (and store in a db or txt file) would be awesome. Thanks! Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/280902-collect-periodic-data-from-a-site/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
requinix Posted August 6, 2013 Share Posted August 6, 2013 What site is this? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/280902-collect-periodic-data-from-a-site/#findComment-1443723 Share on other sites More sharing options...
empireoflight Posted August 6, 2013 Author Share Posted August 6, 2013 I can't say at the moment; does it suffice to say it's a site that updates periodically with wait times and I want to gather those times? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/280902-collect-periodic-data-from-a-site/#findComment-1443736 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muddy_Funster Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 no, it doesn't. We need to make sure you are not trying to do something that is against the websites usage agreement before we even think about helping you do it. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/280902-collect-periodic-data-from-a-site/#findComment-1443766 Share on other sites More sharing options...
empireoflight Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 ok, thanks, I'm not sure they even have a usage agreement. Is it illegal/immoral to automatically check a website periodically and record the information on it? Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/280902-collect-periodic-data-from-a-site/#findComment-1443783 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM1 Posted August 7, 2013 Share Posted August 7, 2013 ok, thanks, I'm not sure they even have a usage agreement. Is it illegal/immoral to automatically check a website periodically and record the information on it? It could be, depending on the country and/or what you plan to do with that info Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/280902-collect-periodic-data-from-a-site/#findComment-1443784 Share on other sites More sharing options...
empireoflight Posted August 7, 2013 Author Share Posted August 7, 2013 Country is USA and I plan on using he collected data for making an info graphic describing the best times to visit the restaurants. Quote Link to comment https://forums.phpfreaks.com/topic/280902-collect-periodic-data-from-a-site/#findComment-1443797 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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