Determining a valid URL
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg112707] Determining a valid URL
- From: Mark Coleman <markspcoleman at gmail.com>
- Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2010 06:02:20 -0400 (EDT)
Greetings, I am exploring the use of Mathematica (v7) to import information from web sites. One step in my procedure is to validate that a given web address is valid. One simple way that seems to work most of the time is to use the Import["my url"] command. An invalid web site (e.g., mispelled URL, etc) returns a $Failed. But I've found instances where valid web sites also return a $Failed if I issue the Import command with no argument. For these sites, Import seems to work if I use "Source". I'm trying to understand this behavior better, so I can write a more general URL checker (note: I am seeking to extract "Plaintext" from these sites, and using "Plaintext" as the second argument in the Import statement also yields a $Failed!) Best, Mark