Is it possible to create a web robot in PHP that can navigate websites, click on links, and submit forms?

Yes, it is possible to create a web robot in PHP that can navigate websites, click on links, and submit forms using libraries like Guzzle or cURL to make HTTP requests and DOMDocument or SimpleHTMLDom to parse HTML content. By simulating user interactions with the website, the robot can programmatically navigate through different pages and interact with elements such as links and forms. 

<?php

// Include the necessary libraries
require 'vendor/autoload.php';

// Initialize Guzzle client
$client = new GuzzleHttp\Client();

// Make a GET request to the target website
$response = $client->request('GET', 'https://www.example.com');

// Parse the HTML content of the response
$html = $response->getBody()->getContents();
$dom = new DOMDocument();
$dom->loadHTML($html);

// Find and click on a specific link
$links = $dom->getElementsByTagName('a');
foreach ($links as $link) {
    if ($link->getAttribute('href') === 'target_url') {
        $client->request('GET', $link->getAttribute('href'));
        break;
    }
}

// Find and submit a form
$forms = $dom->getElementsByTagName('form');
foreach ($forms as $form) {
    $formParams = [];
    foreach ($form->getElementsByTagName('input') as $input) {
        $formParams[$input->getAttribute('name')] = $input->getAttribute('value');
    }
    $client->request('POST', $form->getAttribute('action'), ['form_params' => $formParams]);
}

?>

Keywords

web robot PHP website navigation link clicking form submission

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