What You Need

The Code

This code builds a Yahoo! Search Web Services request URL using the keyword passed to it when the script is run. Then it parses the response and prints it out in a readable format. Save the following code to a file named yahoo_search.pl:

	#!/usr/bin/perl
	# yahoo_search.pl
	# Accepts a search term and shows the top results.
	# Usage: yahoo_search.pl <Query>
	#
	# You can create an AppID, and read the full documentation
	# for Yahoo! Web Services at http://developer.yahoo.net/

	use strict;
	use LWP::Simple;
	use XML::Simple;

	# Set your unique Yahoo! Application ID
	my $appID = "insert your app ID";
	
	# Grab the incoming search query 
	my $query = join(' ', @ARGV) or die "Usage: yahoo_search.pl <query>\n";
	# Construct a Yahoo! Search Query with only required options
	my $language = "en";
	my $req_url = "http://api.search.yahoo.com/";

		$req_url .= "WebSearchService/V1/webSearch?";
		$req_url .= "appid=$appID";
		$req_url .= "&query=$query";
		$req_url .= "&language=$language";

	# Make the request
	my $yahoo_response = get($req_url);

	# Parse the XML
	my $xmlsimple = XML::Simple->new();
	my $yahoo_xml = $xmlsimple->XMLin($yahoo_response);

	# Initialize results counter
	my $i;

	# Loop through the items returned, printing them out
	foreach my $result (@{$yahoo_xml->{Result}}) {
		$i++;
		my $title = $result->{Title};
		my $summary = $result->{Summary};
		my $url = $result->{Url};
		print "$i. $title\n$summary\n$url\n\n";
		
	}

The final print command sends the information from Yahoo! to STDOUT. You can change what this script shows by rearranging the variables and making this last line more or less complex.

Running the Hack

Simply call the script from the command line:

perl yahoo_search.pl insert word

And be sure to enclose phrases or multiple keywords in quotes:

perl yahoo_search.pl "insert multiword phrase"

shows the Yahoo! Search results for the phrase "minimalist Perl".