Hi,

I need a way to compile a list of all of the TV shows airing on my
cable system in a given week (zip 07751 - Monmouth Cablevision Tinton
Falls Digital).  Currently I go to zap2it.com, where I have to run 28
queries (seven days times four 6-hour blocks per day) to retrieve the
information.

I'm looking for 2 things -

-  A way to retrieve the information without running 28 separate
queries (even getting it down to 7 would be better)
-  A way to consolidate the information I retrieve into one list so I
can dump it into Access and use a SQL query to remove the duplicates.

I'm not looking for a perfect solution; just something manageable with
a reasonable amount of manual effort.

Note: I would be willing to pay more for a more sophisticated solution
that required less manual effort on my part, as I will have to do this
for about 10 weeks.

Thanks!

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Request for Question Clarification by pafalafa-ga on 17 Sep 2004 08:42 PDT

Best I can come up with is 24-hour listings for individual channels,
like this one for the Food Network:



http://entertainment.msn.com/tv/channel/?sdt=2004-09-17T15%3A30%3A00&cn=29


Would that do you any good...?


pafalafa-ga

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Request for Question Clarification by palitoy-ga on 17 Sep 2004 11:00 PDT

Hello aknj

Do you have the ability to run Perl scripts on your system?  I could
write for you a small script that would automate the fetching of the
data from the zap2it site and save it to a file that could then be
imported into Access.

Let me know if this would be an acceptable solution for you.

---

Clarification of Question by aknj-ga on 17 Sep 2004 11:26 PDT

Hi palitoy-ga,

That sounds promising.  I have two questions -

-  Do I need anything special on my machine to run a perl script?
-  Will your script be able to break up the show grids so that I can
get a separate entry in the Access database for each show?

Thanks,
Andy

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Request for Question Clarification by palitoy-ga on 17 Sep 2004 11:41 PDT

Hi aknj

1) You would need to install something like ActivePerl
(http://www.activeperl.com/Products/ActivePerl/) to run the script.  I
can also talk you through this installation if necessary (although it
is pretty simple and reasonably well documented).

2) I would envisage each show being given its own line in the Access
database but this depends on how you wish really.  I would need to
know the structure of your Access database to go any further... what
fields would you require?  Do you need the show title only or the
description also?

The only problem I envisage it would take a little longer than the
price of the question suggests.

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Clarification of Question by aknj-ga on 17 Sep 2004 12:36 PDT

Hi Palitoy,

OK, ActivePerl is fine.  I should be able to install it myself.

Ideally, I'd like something like what I've got listed below, but I'm
willing to compromise.  I've listed the fields in order of importance
to me, so Showname is a must, Description is important, ... , down to
Time which is just a nice to have.  For channel, my preference is the
name (e.g., wabc), but the number would be okay too.  For cell color,
the name of the color or the color code in the html is fine.

Showname1,Description1,Channel1,Cell Color,Date,Time
Showname2,Description2,Channel2,Cell Color,Date,Time
.
.
.

I recognize that this goes beyond a $25 effort.  What price do you
think is appropriate?  Feel free to give me a few choices if some
fields are harder to pick up than others.

Perhaps you could email me directly to save time - akleiman@optonline.net

Thanks,
Andy

Yahoo has a useful tv list.  
http://tv.yahoo.com/lineup?co=us&.intl=us&.done=http%3a//tv.yahoo.com/grid%3f
enter you zip code, then select your cable prvodier, and it will take
you to tv listings that span 3 hours.  above the listings, are drop
down menus that allow you to scroll through times as well as dates. 
Hope this helps.

Thanks dubmecrazy,

Yes, the scrolling is helpful, but my problem is coming up with a way
to collect all of the screens I scroll through so I can make a
consolidated list.  I'm at a loss as to how to do that without doing a
lot of custom programming.

Thanks,
aknj