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Posting a link via SMS (phone text message)

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Posting a link via SMS (phone text message)
hi

I would like my Category Editors to be able to post entries to their categories (and sub-categories) from their mobile phone using SMS. I have begun the process of understanding how they might do this. This seems to be the way to do it...but I have got stuck and need advice from someone who is an expert at writing PHP/CGI "handler scripts" and Links SQL.

How to post a link from a mobile via SMS (texting) to a nominated category in Links SQL - a possible method?

- Compose message on cell phone to be posted to a category
- Send this SMS message to a third-party service (that offers SMS-to-URL gateway service)
- This service then can then direct the message to a nominated URL (i.e. the relevant URL within the Links SQL installation at my site, say)

Here's where I am stuck - I understand that the following is the solution...

I need something (a "handler script") that takes each SMS message that is forwarded to the nominated URL, and then "converts" it into a submission via the Add a Link function.

The 3rd party tells me that they can forward the SMS message containing key information to a URL.

The information passed by the third party can carry information in specific fields

Field 1 | Field 2 | Key Word The body of the text message

Here's an example:

User Name | Password | Sub-category name This is a test message

'User Name' (of Category Editor) is in Field 1 (this is entered in the text message by the sender)
'Password' (of Category Editor) is in Field 2 (this is entered in the text message by the sender)
'Sub-category name' is the first (and single) word of the text message (i.e. a single Key Word that the person adds in their text message BEFORE writing the Body of the message)
'This is a test message' is the body of the SMS

What I am thinking could be done is that a "handler script" - takes this SMS message and uses the data from it in an intelligent way i.e.

Posts the 'User Name' and 'Password' into the User Login page of Links SQL - and opens this page via the Submit button
Next
The first 50 characters of the 'Body of the message' are automatically posted into the Title box within the submission form
The first word of the text message (i.e Key Word) is the name of the sub-category name into which the post needs to be entered
The Body of the text message would be posted into the "Description" box - and the procedure is finished by the "Add Link" button being activated

(No URL is posted - so this field would not be a mandatory field to be completed. I am not intending to use Links SQL as a links database)

The 3rd party I refer to above tells me this - "The 'handler' would be a CGI or PHP script. You'd need a
programmer to write this but it would not be especially difficult". (Well, I hope someone here - can also tell me that ;-)

These points may be relevant if you are responding.
- My copy of Links SQL is on a hosted server - not my own.
- Also another option is for the SMS to be converted into an appropriately formatted email for submission to the Add a Link function in Links SQL. I don't know if you can post links remotely - ie. via email?
- The people posting to Links SQL via their cell phones would also be Category Editors (i.e. only they can post to their allocated category and sub-categories).
- the senders phone number can also been handed over to the the 'handler script' and this could be used as a "user name" or "password"

So my questions, I guess, are these:

1. Is it possible to achieve a post from a cell phone via SMS to a Links SQL category?
2. If the method I outlined is THE way to do it, can anyone help me with advice on how to set it up?
3. And if my outline methodology (above) is not the best way to do it, then what is?
4. If all of this is beyond Links SQL at the moment, is there another application like it you could recommend?

I know it all sounds complicated. But given the way people are cheerfully blogging via their cell phones these days, it won't be long before many more people are asking to post to their Links SQL app while they are away from their desktop PC.

Anyway, thank you for having got this far reading my post. I look forward to any help you can offer me.

Thanks

Steve
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Re: [cuppa] Posting a link via SMS (phone text message) In reply to
Really keen to get an answer please. I need to know whether I am wasting my time with Links SQL for what I intend to do... Thanks
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Re: [cuppa] Posting a link via SMS (phone text message) In reply to
There is no support built in for what you describe, but it should be possible to do with the right code. The only real problem is the SMS to e-mail/web gateway (don't know what's out there, or if it's possible).

Adrian
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Re: [brewt] Posting a link via SMS (phone text message) In reply to
Adrian

Thanks for your answer - I knew I was asking for something that is outside the conventional use of Links SQL ;-) However I have posed several questions to my SMS/email/HTML gateway provider and if they can solve the problem I raised above then I shall post my findings here.

Adrian, one of the things I anticipate them asking me (and bear with me if I don't use the correct vocabulary as I am not a techie) - they are likely to want to know the syntax that is used by Links SQL to do these 2 things

a) What does the syntax look like when you log on to your account (as a contributor of links to the database) and by that I get I mean the HTML POST-kinda syntax (I think ;-)

b) Same question as above but this time the syntax used to POST the content from the "Add a Link" HTML-based form.

Hoping someone understands what I mean :-) and can offer some help,

Thanks

Steve
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Re: [cuppa] Posting a link via SMS (phone text message) In reply to
All that information can be obtained by looking at the login and the link add forms.

Adrian
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Re: [cuppa] Posting a link via SMS (phone text message) In reply to
Did you ever get this working? I have someone who was asking me about this and wonder if I could do it.