eQSL Graphic Retrieval Program 03 June 2009 Latest revision 03 December 2012 Any questions or problems may be directed to Dave Morris, N5UP, Webmaster@eqsl.cc SYNOPSIS ======== Responding to increasing demand for a mechanism by which loggers can retrieve the graphical image of an eQSL "card" on request from its recipient, we have created this GeteQSL.cfm program. The old technique that some programmers had discovered (using the DisplayQSL.cfm program) was not secure and not designed to be called from outside the system. We had to do something. The new GeteQSL.cfm program can be accessed by doing a simple HTTP POST or GET from any program written in a modern development language that can use HTTP. When the required parameters have been specified correctly, the program returns a page containing the URL where the graphical eQSL "card" can be retrieved. You can retrieve eQSLs sent to a user whose Callsign and Password are known, when that eQSL is either in the InBox or in the Archive, but none which have already been rejected by the recipient. CAUTION ======= Graphics for eQSLs are generated on-the-fly, i.e. at the time they are requested. This is a processor-intensive task that has the potential to slow down the entire system. Please limit your use of the GeteQSL.cfm program to individual eQSLs at a speed of less than 6 per minute. Do not use huge number of simultaneous threads, as this will eventually max out our web server and shut other users out of the system. Do not mass-download entire Inboxes full of eQSL graphics. Please also implement a mechanism for determining whether you have already downloaded any given eQSL, and refrain from downloading the same eQSL over and over. We are providing GeteQSL.cfm as a courtesy to logger publishers, but if it starts interfering with our system speed, we will be forced to implement throttles to protect our users. We log every use of the GeteQSL.cfm program and the webmaster has real-time monitors tracking its use versus processor utilization. Note that our copyright states that no part of the web site may be downloaded without permission, except that users may download their OWN eQSLs. HOW TO USE THE "GeteQSL.cfm" PROGRAM ==================================== The URL is http://www.eqsl.cc/qslcard/GeteQSL.cfm (case insensitive) The following parameters are required: Username The callsign of the recipient of the eQSL Password The password of the user's account CallsignFrom The callsign of the sender of the eQSL QSOYear YYYY OR YY format date of the QSO QSOMonth MM format QSODay DD format QSOHour HH format (24-hour time) QSOMinute MM format QSOBand 20m, 80M, 70cm, etc. (case insensitive) QSOMode Must match exactly and should be an ADIF-compatible mode Parameters may be included in the URL as shown below in the TEST PROCEDURE, or may be included internally in the HTTP command in a set of form parameters. (If slashes are used in a callsign or a date in the URL method of submission, they MUST be escaped properly.) Date/Time must match the desired eQSL to within plus or minus 5 minutes of the time stored in the eQSL. Mode must match exactly, unless you specify a submode of JT65 (for instance JT65A) or JT9 (for instance JT9-1), in which case the major mode will be used to search for a match (JT65 or JT9 respectively). RETURN PAGE FORMAT: =================== The returned page will contain various amounts of text, due to the fact that we are using internal subroutines that often generate HTML comments. The easiest way to parse the returned page is 1. Search for the string "Error:" and if found, display the entire page to determine the source of the error and correct it before continuing 2. If no error was found, search for the string "