Question : Problem: Telnet and HTTP

can i use telnet as an http client software to post forms to a web server?

Would telnet use http protocol?

Can telnet work the same as CURL or WGET http clients?

Answer : Problem: Telnet and HTTP

Hi Munzer,

1. If you do start/run/telnet www.experts-exchange.com 80 you should get up a black window (the command prompt), with a blinking cursor in it. That indicates that you are actually connected to the web server, and you can enter the GET command.

2. Telnet is normally done on port 23, and that port is normally blocked by web servers. But you can also use the telnet command to connect to port 80 (or any other port that you wish, e.g. port 25 for SMTP). When you connect to port 80 there is no way for the web server or a firewall to know if you connect through the telnet command or if you connect through a designated HTTP client. Network wise it is all just a network connection, no difference whatsoever. Just that when you telnet to port 80 you must enter HTTP commands, you cannot enter any other commands. And if you connect to port 25 you must enter SMTP commands.

3. For HTTP scripting on Windows I normally use cygwin, curl and wget. Sometimes I use perl, which also has good support for HTTP scripting. Perl has better error handling, for example if you want to send an email if the HTTP download fails for any reason, then Perl is a better choice.