Wednesday, Debtember 29, 2004
Probably because some Pointy-haired Boss wanted a prettier button
The fact that the managed power pole (accessible via the web so that remote power cycles are possible) still had the old IP address wasn't a problem—I still had the setup from last week so I could get access. This time, I was able to get the correct credentials to log in to powercycle this server.
Problem.
The site isn't Lynx friendly. Not in the least.
Frames based, which made it a nightmare to navigate. But I was able to poke around find the right page where the outlets were listed, select power cycle, page down to the bottom of the form to find—
—the XXXXXXX button is JavaScript based!
And what does it do?
Well, let's see …
function send_authentication(formnumber) {
document.forms[formnumber].submit()
}
They use JavaScript to simulate the action of a well-defined element of HTML, namely the Submit Button! Which would work reguardless of browser!
“Oooh, but that button graphic looks so good!”
I'm really feeling the need for a sucker rod.
So, if all the JavaSript does is simply simulate <INPUT
TYPE="submit"> then let's add it. I save the page, edit
it to add a submit button, load it up, and hit submit, and lo (that word—I
seem to be using a lot lately) the server is power cycled.
Would it kill them to make the web pages a little more Lynx friendly?
Sigh.
