SMS Interfaces
Automated Web Engine for SMS (AWES)



Overview

The Automated Web Engine for SMS (AWES) provides an environment that will allow you to analyze Web pages and write scripts to automate interactions with those pages utilizing incoming SMS messages. A scripting language is included so that you can direct a sequence of actions that you would like to perform on a given Web site. For example you could query a yellow page site via SMS message and AWES could send the phone number to your cell phone via SMS text message. AWES will do all the processing on your behalf just as if you were on the Web site yourself! In order for the SMS features of AWES to work you will need to upload your scripts to the AWES gateway. AWES can also be used as a standalone application without utilizing its SMS capabilities. AWES will enable you to automatically gather information from Web sites for later review.

The AWES Application

AWES gives you the power to use the SMS capabilities of your cell phone to retrieve almost any information you want directly from the Web. The screen is separated into five main sections: The Menu Bar (across the top) Allows you to choose the option you want to perform. The Browser Area (upper left) A built in Web browser that enables you to view and interact with sites on the Internet. The Information Window (lower left) Shows detailed information returned by the system depending on what feature is selected. The Script Window (upper right) Allows you to write scripts that automate your interaction with Web pages. The Processing Area (lower right) Lets you set default parameters and view current status of scripts as they run.

The Menu Bar

The Menu Bar contains 7 buttons as follows Analyze Forms This button will initiate an analysis of all forms on the currently loaded Web page. It also returns all page links and images. This information will be important for writing a script which will perform actions directly on the forms that are found on the page. A knowledge of HTML is helpful in order to understand the information presented. A form usually consists of at least a text box and a submit button. The first form on Google.com is a good example of a simple form. Each item on a form is referred to as an Element. Each Element (such as a text box for example) has a number associated with it. This number is written in parentheses. If you run Analyze Forms on Google.com you will see for Form(0) that the text box is Element(1) and the submit button is Element(2) (as of this writing). These elements will be referred to when you write a script. GetWords This button will populate an array that contains all of the words (individually) that make up the text on the currently loaded Web page. These words can be referenced in your script to send information to the cell phone user. These words are referred to in your script using Word(X) where X is the number of the word. Words may also contain punctuation characters but these are ignored unless you are specifically looking for a single character as a marker. Load Script This allows you to load a script from your hard drive. Save Script This allows you to save a script to your hard drive. Note: if you create a script and neglect to save - it will automatically be saved for you under default.awe. You should save it under another name as soon as possible because default.awe may be inadvertently overwritten. Run Script Runs the currently loaded script. The script is run automaticaly once it has been deployed on the gateway server and an incoming message is received. Upload Script Allows you to upload a script to the gateway server. All scripts are checked for integrity so please allow 24 hours for your script to be deployed. Get Help Loads information explaining how to use the AWES software application.

The Browser Area

You can use this built in Web browser for testing actions on Web pages. Although it isn't as large as a conventional browser and the features are limited you will still be able to browse Web sites - type information into forms and most anything else you would do in your traditional browser. When you want to go to a Web site just type in the URL and click the Go button. Whatever site appears in this window is the site that will be used if you click on the Get Forms or Get Words buttons.

The Information Window

This is the window that will display information gathered when you Analyze Forms or Get Words. It will also display information regarding your script when using the OUTPUT command (see script Language Reference.)

The Script Window

You can write your scripts directly from the AWES application where you have all your tools available. Since the script itself is an ASCII text file you can also use Notepad or another editor if you prefer. Scripts are limited to 1000 lines. Anything over 1000 lines will be truncated. Most scripts are only a few dozen lines.

The Processing Area

The processing area is made up of 4 sections: InWord Variable Boxes These five text boxes allow you to simulate an incoming text message which can be composed of up to five words. A phrase that is enclosed in quotes is counted as one word. For example if a cell phone user sent a query such as - LOOKUP Dennys 90621 - Each word in the message would be considered an "InWord". InWord1 would hold the word "Lookup" - InWord2 would hold the word "Dennys" - InWord3 would hold the word "90621". When writing a script you would utilize all of these words in order to gather the information needed from the Web site. HTTP Post URL This is for a special kind of SMS processing that does not utilize a script. A URL string composed of the "InWords" is sent directly to the server for processing by a remote program. This can be used as a more direct way to access a database residing on a server. You would enter the URL and name of the page to do the processing. InWords are automatically appended by the system. The Status Text Box Shows the current status of a script as it runs. May also be used for other system status messages. Allows you to write scripts that automate your interaction with Web pages. The Response Text Box Displays more detailed information as the system responds to the actions taken by your script.

Click Here for AWES Language Reference