Using OmniWeb to understand CGIs
A while back, Steven Frank had mentioned that you could use the OmniWeb browser to dynamically edit the source of any web page you were looking at, and see the changes reflected immediately. He was using it to put LiveJournal text into the WashPo page (this was the precursor to the amusing LJ Times site), but today I found a more interesting use. If you’re looking at a complex, JavaScript-infested form page, and you’re curious about the actual form values that get generated, you can pull it up in OmniWeb, view source, search for "<form", and then change the “POST” to a “GET” (to see if you can get a bookmarkable URL), or perhaps redirect the form action to a useful script of your choice. From there, you can figure out how to get the same results out in a more straightforward manner. Of course, if the site uses gratuitous cookies as well, it’ll be a little more work.
