Introduction
This article (an improved .NET version of my C++ version) describes WebResourceProvider
, a simple yet powerful framework for retrieving useful information from public sources on the web, such as:
Apart from being rewritten in C# from the ground up, this .NET version offers a smaller footprint than its C++ predecessor and makes it easy (almost trivial) to encapsulate functionality offered by online services into an object that can be manipulated by your application. Here are screenshots of some WebResourceProvider
applications (listed at the end of this article) in action.
Domain Walker |
Google Translator |
Simple RSS Reader |
A Word of Caution
Before you use WebResourceProvider
to write the next killer app, be aware that there are legal and ethical issues regarding the use of information obtained from other sources. In particular, the terms of service (TOS) of content providers such as Yahoo, CNN, etc. clearly state what you can and cannot do with information retrieved from their sites. Even if you write a web resource provider for personal use only, you should take into consideration any undue stress that your object may put on a web server. The object's Pause
property allows you to inject a delay between successive HTTP requests to help prevent overloading a server.
How it Works
Demo applications
C# applications (with full source code) that use WebResourceProvider
can be found here:
Revision History
- 17 Feb 2008
Updated links to sample applications.
- 15 Jan 2006
Initial version.