Each watch starts and stops separately
Three targets are followed in parallel. For each one, the status is clearly displayed with its running time; the last one also shows its launch time and the number of the current attempt.
Case study · client application, automation
A bot that watches a booking site and sends an alert as soon as a place becomes free.
Places in high demand were becoming free without warning on a third-party site, and the client no longer wanted to reload the page all day long. We wrote a .NET program that reads the site like a visitor, in a headless browser. As soon as a place appears, it sends an e-mail and a text message.
01/BackgroundWhere we started
Places that become free without warning, and nobody to keep watch
The need fitted in one sentence: to be alerted in time, without spending all day on it. For each situation as it was before, what the bot does.
- 01Places become free at any time of day, without notice.The bot checks the site at regular intervals, on its own, for as long as the machine is running.
- 02Keeping watch by hand means reloading the same page all day.It opens the site in a headless browser, reads the page like a visitor and spots the available places.
- 03A place spotted too late is already taken.As soon as availability appears, an e-mail and a text message go out, with the details.
- 04A bot that stops silently gives a false sense of security.An error triggers a new attempt, counted on screen, and every check is written to a log.
02/What we builtDelivered to the client
A desktop program that keeps watch in place of a person
A window to control it, an invisible browser to read, two channels to send alerts.
- 01Control window. Each watch starts and stops separately, with its status clearly displayed.
- 02Three independent watches. Three targets followed in parallel, each with its own running time.
- 03Automated browsing. Selenium drives Chrome without a graphical interface, in the background.
- 04Reading the page. The availability shown is extracted from the page, as a visitor would read it.
- 05Checks at regular intervals. The check repeats on its own, with no human action.
- 06Retry on error. A page that does not respond triggers a new attempt, whose number is shown in the window.
- 07Alerts. An e-mail and a text message as soon as a place becomes free, with the details of the availability.
- 08Log. Every check is recorded, so that what happened can be traced and an anomaly spotted.
03/One screenOriginal screenshot, nothing to blur
One screen, actual size
The control window, as it was captured at the time. The monitored site does not appear in it; nothing is blurred.
04/TechnologiesWhat we chose, and why
A .NET program that drives a real browser
The bot reads the same page as a visitor, through a browser driven by the program.
- ProgramWindows application on .NET, with its control window.
- BrowserSelenium WebDriver, which drives Chrome without a graphical interface, in the background.
- ReadingAvailability extracted from the displayed page.
- AlertsE-mail and text message, with the details of the availability.
- RetryAutomatic new attempt on error, with a counter visible in the window.
- TracesA detailed log of every check, to spot an anomaly.
05/Further readingRelated services
To automate a task that someone keeps doing by hand
What next
A check that someone repeats by hand all day long?
This bot replaced watching with an alert. Tell us about yours, and we will tell you what is feasible, with a timeline and a rough price.
Discuss your project
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