Choosing values for text fields in web forms

Abstract

Since the only way to gain access to Hidden Web data is through form submission, one of the challenges is how to fill Web forms automatically. In this paper, we propose algorithms which address this challenge.We describe an efficient method to select good values for text fields and a technique which minimizes the number of form submissions and simultaneously maximizes the number of rows retrieved from the underlying database. Experiments using real Web forms show the advantages of our proposed approaches. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.