Imagine you’re on treasure hunt. You are digging through piles, trying to find the rare gem. The feeling of fast web scraping is like sifting though mountains of data, looking for valuable nuggets. But let’s face facts, nobody wants a slow-moving car. Speed is crucial. Here’s a way to do that without losing it (or any of your data).
Split and Conquer **
Imagine peeling all the potatoes you need for a meal by yourself. Impossible, right? With a little help from your friends, this becomes easy. The same principle is applicable here. Divide your work into smaller chunks. Scraping smaller data in parallel is faster than trying to tackle a large file. This is like a bunch mini-yous, working towards the exact same goal.
**Play Nice on Websites**
Ever tried to barge your way in to a line, only to get escorted straight out? Websites will detect desperate scrapers for miles. Most likely, you will be told to leave if you hammer the servers of websites with requests. Sending your requests should be done calmly. Consider simulating human activity. Incorporate a short break in between requests. You can also add some randomness and human touches.
**Go Asynchronous**
You remember how slow dial-up internet was? Synchronous is agonizingly painful. Asynchronous web scraping requests are superheroes. This allows you to retrieve multiple web sites simultaneously and take advantage of the full potential of your PC. You can imagine ten fingers pulling data simultaneously in every direction.
Do not get caught up in the Web
You know, the guy who downloads cat videos in gigabytes at work and gets flagged by IT every time? You don’t wish to have your scraper be like that. Websites will often set traps for overly-enthusiastic scrapers. The headless version of a browser can be used to avoid speed bumps. Puppeteer and Selenium are two tools that can mimic the real behavior of users. These tools can even run JavaScript – which is needed to extract dynamic content.
**Manage resources wisely**
Have you tried running a full marathon without proper training? If your computer isn’t up to the task, you may find yourself unable even to crawl. Sometimes using proxy servers is not a good enough idea. Rotating the IP addresses will help to distribute the load among multiple computers, much like distributing the marathon route checkpoint by checkpoint.
**JSON over HTML**
Ever tried finding a nail in a pile of hay? This is how it feels to extract data from HTML. JSON files however are another story. They look like needles neatly lined up. Some websites offer JSON-formatted APIs. It’s compact, simple to parse, a sure time-saver.
**Scrape Responsibly**
Imagine having a friend show up unexpectedly and eat your snacks. That’s just not cool. Some websites have API limits and request quotas. Respect them. Overstepping these boundaries will not earn you brownie points, and you could even be blacklisted. Spread out the scraping activity over time to please everyone.
Keep it Gusseted
Lost your keys? How about retracing steps? The importance of keeping a scraping log is not to be underestimated. This helps to track down mistakes and also offers a safety net in the event of a problem. The detailed logs will save you from having to start all over again each time you run into an obstacle.
**Location, Location, Location! **
Web scraping is no different. Location is everything. Proxies can mask your true location. Geo-restrictions will be easy to bypass with proxy servers scattered across the globe. Plus, you are less likely to end up being banned from the site.
Get By With A Little Help From Libraries
It’s not necessary to reinvent the wheel. Libraries like BeautifulSoup are worth every penny. They are like a Swiss Army tool for scraping. It’s easy to use and learn.