Since Twitter changed their authentication method for using their API to OpenAuth, sending an automated tweet has become a whole lot more difficult.
In response to this I decided to code my own PERL module for OAuth.
Limitations of the module
Just before I post the code below I will mention that all this module currently does is allow you to post tweets, it does not handle retrieving access tokens or any other OAuth jazz. This module is really for single user twitter apps, like RSS feeds and twitter bots, or other situations where you already have all the required access tokens. If you register an app on twitter as a single access app, twitter will give you all the OAuth tokens you need. Point your browser at http://twitter.com/apps/new and sign in as your twitter bot or RSS feed posting account.
The Code
package Jimtweet;
#####JimTweet 0.1 By James Januszka 2010
#####Email:jimjanuszka@gmail.com
#####Twitter:@jamesjanuszka
use strict;
use warnings;
use LWP;
use HTTP::Headers;
use URI::Encode qw(uri_encode);
use URI::Escape qw(uri_escape);
use Digest::HMAC_SHA1;
####Constructor####
sub new {
my $self={};
$self->{OAUTH_VERSION}=uri_escape("1.0");
$self->{OAUTH_SIGNATURE_METHOD}=uri_escape("HMAC-SHA1");
$self->{OAUTH_TIMESTAMP}=undef;
$self->{OAUTH_NONCE}=undef;
$self->{AGENT}="jimtweet/0.1";
$self->{URL}="http://api.twitter.com/1/statuses/update.xml";
$self->{BROWSER}=LWP::UserAgent->new(agent =>$self->{AGENT});
$self->{CONSUMER_KEY}=undef;
$self->{CONSUMER_SECRET}=undef;
$self->{OAUTH_TOKEN}=undef;
$self->{OAUTH_TOKEN_SECRET}=undef;
$self->{STATUS}=undef;
bless($self);
return $self;
}
sub consumer_key{
my $self=shift;
if (@_) { $self->{CONSUMER_KEY}=uri_escape(shift) }
return $self->{CONSUMER_KEY};
}
sub consumer_secret{
my $self = shift;
if (@_) { $self->{CONSUMER_SECRET}=uri_escape(shift) }
return $self->{CONSUMER_SECRET};
}
sub oauth_token{
my $self = shift;
if (@_) { $self->{OAUTH_TOKEN}=uri_escape(shift) }
return $self->{OAUTH_TOKEN};
}
sub oauth_token_secret{
my $self = shift;
if (@_) { $self->{OAUTH_TOKEN_SECRET}=uri_escape(shift) }
return $self->{OAUTH_TOKEN_SECRET};
}
sub update_status(@){
sleep(2);
my $self = shift;
if (@_) { $self->{STATUS}=uri_escape(shift) }
my $seconds = time();
$self->{OAUTH_TIMESTAMP}=uri_escape($seconds);
$self->{OAUTH_NONCE}=$self->{OAUTH_TIMESTAMP};
my $query=qq(oauth_consumer_key=$self->{CONSUMER_KEY}&oauth_nonce=$self->{OAUTH_NONCE}&oauth_signature_method=$self->{OAUTH_SIGNATURE_METHOD}&oauth_timestamp=$self->{OAUTH_TIMESTAMP}&oauth_token=$self->{OAUTH_TOKEN}&oauth_version=$self->{OAUTH_VERSION}&status=$self->{STATUS});
my $sig="POST&";
$sig .=uri_encode($self->{URL},1);
$sig .="&";
$sig .=uri_encode($query,1);
my $sig_key=$self->{CONSUMER_SECRET};
$sig_key .="&";
$sig_key .=$self->{OAUTH_TOKEN_SECRET};
my $hmac = Digest::HMAC_SHA1->new($sig_key);
$hmac->add($sig);
my $oauth_signature_base64=$hmac->b64digest;
$oauth_signature_base64 .="=";
my $utf8_oauth_signature_base64=uri_escape($oauth_signature_base64);
my $debug="-v";
my $curlpost=qq(status=$self->{STATUS});
my $header=qq(OAuth oauth_nonce="$self->{OAUTH_NONCE}", oauth_signature_method="$self->{OAUTH_SIGNATURE_METHOD}", oauth_timestamp="$self->{OAUTH_TIMESTAMP}", oauth_consumer_key="$self->{CONSUMER_KEY}", oauth_token="$self->{OAUTH_TOKEN}", oauth_signature="$utf8_oauth_signature_base64", oauth_version="$self->{OAUTH_VERSION}");
my $req=HTTP::Request->new(POST => $self->{URL});
$req->content_type('application/x-www-form-urlencoded');
$req->content($curlpost);
$req->header('Authorization' => $header); # set
my $res = $self->{BROWSER}->request($req);
return 1
}
####Footer####
1; #so the require or use succeeds
Usage
The first thing you need to do is include the module in your perl script, then you have to set up a new tweet object.
my $tweet=Jimtweet->new();
Next you have to specify your OAuth tokens
$tweet->consumer_key($consumer_key); $tweet->consumer_secret($consumer_secret); $tweet->oauth_token($oauth_token); $tweet->oauth_token_secret($oauth_token_secret);
Finally to send a tweet
$tweet->update_status($status);
The module sets up the nonce and timestamp for you as well as setting up the OAuth signature that many people have trouble with.
Well thats it I hope you all like it.
Getmail a nice little Perl script that when setup with a cron job automatically scans your inbox on behalf of you or one of your twitter apps for emails from twitter and responds accordingly.
