Top 10 Web Scraping Technologies
Web scraping involves extracting information from a website with or without the owner's consent. Although scraping can be done manually, it is most often automated due to its efficiency. In most cases, web scraping is done with malicious intent, but regardless of the purpose, there are several methods of web scraping.
Among new and growing companies, web scraping has become a common term, especially as collecting large amounts of data is necessary to stay competitive. Not all companies have the necessary skills to extract data via web scraping, so they turn to reputable agencies. This is because the Internet contains unstructured data that cannot be used in its raw form. As a developer interested in web scraping, we have compiled useful technologies to help you master it.
As a company, it is better to outsource web scraping, as it allows you to spend more time on more productive tasks. However, there is hardly anything more enjoyable than obtaining data yourself, and if that is your case, here are 5 technologies you need to get familiar with for web scraping.
Manual Scraping
Copy-Pasting
In manual scraping, you simply copy and paste the website content. It is time-consuming, repetitive, and begs for a more efficient copying method. However, it is very effective because site protection is aimed at automatic scraping, not manual. But even with this advantage, manual scraping is rarely used because it takes a lot of time, while automated scraping is faster and cheaper.
Automated Scraping
1. HTML Parsing
HTML parsing is done using JavaScript and targets linear or nested HTML pages. It is a fast and reliable method used for text extraction, screen scraping, resource extraction, etc.
2. DOM Parsing
DOM is short for Document Object Model, which defines the style structure and content of XML files. Parsers use DOM parsers to get a detailed representation of a web page's structure. They can also use the DOM parser to obtain nodes containing information and then use a tool like XPath for web scraping. Internet Explorer or Firefox browsers can be embedded to extract the entire web page or just a part.
3. Vertical Aggregation
Vertical aggregation platforms are created by companies with access to large computing power to work with specific verticals. Some companies use