PHP Alternative to Perl's WWW::Mechanize

Perl's WWW::Mechanize offers a convenient way to perform web automation tasks such as submitting HTTP requests, parsing HTML, and extracting forms and links. For PHP users seeking a similar solution, SimpleTest's ScriptableBrowser offers a promising alternative.

Functionality

ScriptableBrowser provides an easy-to-use syntax for:

• Submitting HTTP GET and POST requests
• Parsing HTML and XHTML pages
• Extracting forms, fields, and links
• Saving page content to files

User-Friendly Syntax

Unlike CURL, ScriptableBrowser employs a more intuitive syntax. Here's an example of how to perform tasks similar to those in the Perl snippet you provided:

// Navigate to the main page
$sb->open('http://www.example.com');

// Follow a link with the text 'Download This'
$sb->click('Download This');

// Submit a POST form to log in
$sb->click('Login');
$sb->setFormValues(array(
    'username' => 'johndoe',
    'password' => 'secret'
));
$sb->submit();

// Save the results as a file
$sb->save('results.zip');

Independence

Notably, ScriptableBrowser can be utilized independently from the SimpleTest testing framework. This provides greater flexibility for integrating it into your projects.

In contrast to CURL's barebones nature and HTTP_Client's lower level of abstraction, ScriptableBrowser offers a comprehensive and user-friendly interface for automating web interactions in PHP.