bash script for database searching using crontab

saurya_s · 01-21-2004, 07:58 AM

Hi all
I usally do database search for references everyweek at PubMed
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
Now, can I automate this:

#1 Can I make this to do every monday using certain defined keywords.
#And if it could mail me the results for each week.

Any geek to help me out with this? I guess it is not so difficult or am I asking too much.
SS

jkobrien · 01-21-2004, 10:23 AM

Hi,

You don't have to go to that trouble.

Have a look at pubcrawler.

John

saurya_s · 01-21-2004, 10:27 AM

Yep,
I found that and another one called Biomail http://biomail.sourceforge.net/biomail/
Ok, my final aim is to forward a weeks search result to a group of people.
So I guess I can getaway by subscribing to their web service.
I need mail automation here. What I want- as soon as I get that email, can I make it to automatically forward to the given group of people. I can probably have a file containig their email IDs. Something like piping the result to mail app and asking it read the email IDs from the file. or perhaps there must be some better way of doing this.
SS

jkobrien · 01-22-2004, 03:57 AM

Ok. Do you know any perl?

The pubcrawler standalone is a perl script, you could download and read through it for a few pointers.

Otherwise, some mailers have mail filtering options - e.g. automatic redirect. I'm not on my linux box at the moment, so I can't check, but I think mozillas mail program can do that.

John

saurya_s · 01-22-2004, 08:03 AM

Hi there
Actually, it is more on UNIX which I know just enough for work.My machine is not running always. So, I would like to do from the server so that everybody gets the mail irrespective of my machine's status.The job will be done even if I am not there.
Any suggestions.
SS

jkobrien · 01-22-2004, 08:53 AM

No, sorry, not for how to do that anyway.

But I'll bet you could subscribe to Pubcrawler with a group e-mail address which the script would then use to mail the results every week/day/whatever to everyone in that group. You'd just have to talk to whoever runs your mailserver to have the address set up.

I'm not trying to push this resource on you - just trying to find a solution to the problem with what I do know

John