hostavailable - always .T.

[G Gabriel]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

Now try gghhii.com, pennifig.com, or calocklin.com and they all come up as false.

?hostavailable("gghhii.com")
= .T.
?hostavailable("pennifig.com")
= .T.
?hostavailable("calocklin.com")
= .T.

It all has to do with which browser is your default one and what it does.

Cal:
404 means page not available and that's is the only number you need to test for as it indicates whether you did or did not connect to the desired web page.

[CALocklin]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

Hi Cal

Can you try www.crapaholictest.com with the function I supplied (not an IP address), and if the function returns "Success" then you have a firewall problem. You should get the response 'Destination Protocol Unreachable'. Some firewalls, even when turned off will still default to IP address 127.0.0.1 and will still produce a successful result. Sometimes the opposite is true; this is why Hostavailable() didn't work for my client at the time.

The function I supplied is based on the ping status.

load_library( "E:\a5stuff\HostavailableReplacement.aex")
?internetconnectionstatus("www.crapaholictest.com?")
= "Success"

And I turned my Windows firewall is off and I don't have any other firewalls - except the router if you want to consider that.

I wonder if there is some relation between this and the problems I'm having with email in Vista??

Later - I think I'll try this later with the router unplugged and see what happens.

[CALocklin]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

404 means page not available and that's is the only number you need to test for as it indicates whether you did or did not connect to the desired web page.

So you're telling me there really is a page called www.googlex.com?

[G Gabriel]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

www.googlexzq.com[/URL] returned a 404.

There is no such website, checked with IE & Firefox.

[G Gabriel]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

I also got a 301 response (moved permanently?) to www.googlex.com when it sent me to some other site that offered me some related options.

This website does exist (redirected to another) hence you got 301 (not 404).

[Lenny Forziati]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

Cal, what happens if you use a browser to go to http://nosuchhost

It sounds like something on your machine, the local network, or on your ISPs network is always sending back some kind of response, even on invalid URLs. Adware/malware/viruses often do this. Also some router manufacturers and ISPs do this to generate advertising revenue.

[Lenny Forziati]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

Gabe, 404 means the server responded but the specific page requested was not found. So for these purposes, a 404 would indicate that the host IS available. In fact, if response.parsed_headers.status_code contains any value at all, then the server is available. Otherwise you would get no response at all from the server and .error_code will be non-zero.

resp=http_get("http://nosuchhost")
?resp
= body = 
error_code = 16030
error_text = WSAHOST_NOT_FOUND - Host not found while getting host name..

Detailed Description:
No such host is known. The name is not an official host name or alias,
or it cannot be found in the database(s) being queried.
This error may also be returned for protocol and service queries,
and means that the specified name could not be found in the relevant database.

headers = ""
+parsed_headers.

'there is no parsed_headers.status_code because no headers came back from the non-existent server
?resp.parsed_headers
= <Has no sub-properties>

'compare to a valid host
?http_get("http://www.google.com").error_code
= 0

[CALocklin]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

You're right. I have to turn my head around. Instead of thinking, "Did I get a good connection to the page?", I just have to think in terms of, "Is the page there?"

On the other hand, most of the pages I'll be checking for should only return 200 or, for some reason that makes no sense to me right now, 302.

EDIT: And now I see Lenny's info that throws another more questions into the pot.

[Lenny Forziati]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

On the other hand, most of the pages I'll be checking for should only return 200 or, for some reason that makes no sense to me right now, 302.

If testing against a non-current V9 Alpha Application Server, and your test request does not include a session ID, the server generates a new session ID and issues a 302 to indicate that the request should be repeated, but with the new session ID included on the second request.

This behavior was changed as of V9 build 1836-3213 and the redirect should no longer be forced if the initial request does not include a session ID.

[CALocklin]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

Gabe, 404 means the server responded but the specific page requested was not found. So for these purposes, a 404 would indicate that the host IS available. In fact, if response.parsed_headers.status_code contains any value at all, then the server is available. Otherwise you would get no response at all from the server and .error_code will be non-zero.

resp=http_get("http://nosuchhost")
?resp
= body = 
error_code = 16030
error_text = WSAHOST_NOT_FOUND - Host not found while getting host name..
 
Detailed Description:
No such host is known. The name is not an official host name or alias,
or it cannot be found in the database(s) being queried.
This error may also be returned for protocol and service queries,
and means that the specified name could not be found in the relevant database.
 
headers = ""
+parsed_headers.
 
'there is no parsed_headers.status_code because no headers came back from the non-existent server
?resp.parsed_headers
= <Has no sub-properties>
 
'compare to a valid host
?http_get("http://www.google.com").error_code
= 0

Lenny,

I tried this with resp=http_get("http://www.rptrackerxqsyt.com") and got a 404 code.

Then I tried it with resp=http_get("http://www.rptrackerxqsyt") and got a 404 code.

Then I tried it with resp=http_get("http://asdf.rptrackerxqsyt") and got a 404 code.

Then I tried it with resp=http_get("http://rptrackerxqsyt") and got your "not available" message.

It seems that anytime there is a 'dot' in the name, it returns a 404 code. At least it does on my machine.

[Lenny Forziati]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

http_get() is muddying the water. It is a far more complex test than host_available. Have you tested these hostnames in a browser yet to see if you get an actual page instead of the built-in browser error message?

[CALocklin]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

If testing against a non-current V9 Alpha Application Server, and your test request does not include a session ID, the server generates a new session ID and issues a 302 to indicate that the request should be repeated, but with the new session ID included on the second request.

This behavior was changed as of V9 build 1836-3213 and the redirect should no longer be forced if the initial request does not include a session ID.

Thanks. My WAS isn't current because it works and I hate to change from something that works when about 8 customers are relying on it.

[CALocklin]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

http_get() is muddying the water. It is a far more complex test than host_available. Have you tested these hostnames in a browser yet to see if you get an actual page instead of the built-in browser error message?

I wonder if my ISP (Charter) is doing this to me. Here's an example of what I often get in the browser when this happens.
And, to the best of my knowledge, I don't have any Yahoo toolbar, etc. on my system. That's not to say it isn't there but, if it is, I can't find it.

[G Gabriel]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

Gabe, 404 means the server responded but the specific page requested was not found. So for these purposes, a 404 would indicate that the host IS available.

Lenny:
Yes.. I agree, but I think what Cal is trying to do is to make sure he connected to a CERTAIN page or site as opposed to test whether the server is merely available.

[G Gabriel]

Re: hostavailable - always .T.

I wonder if my ISP (Charter) is doing this to me. Here's an example of what I often get in the browser when this happens.[ATTACH]20677[/ATTACH]

Cal:
That's what I was saying all a long: the webpage you are seeking does not exist but your host takes you to a default page (some browsers will do that when they can't locate the URL, others like IE will take you to google.com). But if you use the script I posted, you get 404.