Scheduled sms sending

[WindForce]

Hi
I use a very simple code (using CURL) to send SMS using Nexmo, with great success.

Now i would like to run a query and SMS the results at a fixed scheduled time every day.
I gleaned here in the forum, in old threads, how to use cURL to send automatically after building a A5W file with the xBasic , but none of the solutions is clear and complete.
Has anyone a step by step on how to implement this?

Thanks
Jaime

[Davidk]

Re: Scheduled sms sending

Your current code is Xbasic... utilizing the cURL class... is that right? An a5w page is... just a page. It usually contains html and Xbasic code. The Developer Server Settings dialog defines the Page Extensions property as "A comma-separated list of file extensions to evaluate A5W code within".

Your a5w page gets evaluated by the server and any Xbasic code found within the <%a5 %> tag is run.

So... create a new a5w page, click on the Source tab, delete everything you see, and then add your Xbasic...

<%a5

debug(1)

''request.variables.Id = "4444"

if variable_exists("request.variables.Id") then
	dim myId as c
	myId = request.variables.Id
	?myId
end if

%>

Request Variables are the parameters you add to your URL call. E.g.

http://www.myserver.com/testa5wpage.a5w?Id=4444&Company=MyCompanyName

If you're using Request Variables, then you can create and assign them as I've done here for testing... request.variables.Id = "4444"

When you want to test your code with the debugger click on the Live Preview tab at the bottom of the page.

When you want to test your code in a browser, comment out this line... request.variables.Id = "4444" and then click the Lightning Bolt (Live Preview) in the menu.

If you're using Security, set the Security for the page to Always Allowed. There are other security considerations, but that's not the scope here.

Once your page is first displayed in a browser, you won't see anything. In the Address Bar, add in the Parameters... after the page extension... replacing what is currently there...e.g.

?Id=4444

and hit enter. Your page will run and you should see 4444.

Have a look here for more info... http://documentation.alphasoftware.c...A5W%20Page.xml

Once you have your XBasic running, use the Windows Task Scheduler to schedule when you want your page to run. You give the Task Scheduler the URL and params to run.

It's a good idea to pass through at least one parameter... anything... to test... even if you don't use it. This will identify that the call is being made by you and not some nefarious act.

[WindForce]

Re: Scheduled sms sending

Hi David
Thank you for your patience in the description. I already have a working .a5w
The problem is : if i run it using the windows task scheduler, what happens when it finished it's stuff and sent all the sms? can the windows task scheduler close the page?
That's the reason i thought about using the cURL utility to run the page ( which also contains curl xbasic object commands to send the sms as you correctly stated ), but i don't know what exact settings to use.
Will do some try and error to see what parameter is needed

[WindForce]

Re: Scheduled sms sending

Got it working, using the CURL command line is really simple!

[Davidk]

Re: Scheduled sms sending

When you set up an a5w page without any HTML, there is no open or close... the page simply just runs the Xbasic code... you don't need to worry about closing the page.

What's the cURL command line you're using... and where are you running it from?

[WindForce]

Re: Scheduled sms sending

I am using the CURL.EXE from the c:\program files (x86)\A5V12 folder
You can read about using it and the gazillion possible parameters here : https://ec.haxx.se/http.html

Now in my task scheduler i run the curl.exe and give it the a5w page as parameter and it works like a charm

[Davidk]

Re: Scheduled sms sending

Sorry... I was specifically interested in what your cURL command was... not cURL itself... I kinda know about that... and just checking that it was running from Task Scheduler.

Glad it all worked out.