Scraping Your First Web Page with Python from Pluralsight

This course covers the important tools for retrieving web content using HTTP libraries such as Requests, Httplib2 and Urllib, as well as powerful technologies for web parsing. These include Beautiful Soup, which is a popular library, and Scrapy, which is a powerful, production-grade framework.

Web scraping is an important technique that is widely used as the first step in many workflows in data mining, information retrieval, and text-based machine learning. In this course, Scraping your First Web Page with Python, you will gain the ability to apply different scraping techniques including Beautiful Soup, and Scrapy. First, you will learn and use various HTTP client libraries such as Requests, httplib2, and urllib to download HTML content. Next, you will discover how Beautiful Soup is an extremely popular Python library that does better than regex in important ways. You will see how Beautiful Soup fixes up badly formed HTML, and constructs a nice parse tree that can be traversed and queried. Finally, you will add to your toolkit the knowledge of Scrapy, which is a full-fledged web scraping framework that combines the steps of retrieving and parsing web content and does so at production-scale. When you’re finished with this course, you will have the skills and knowledge to identify the relative strengths and use-cases of different web retrieval and scraping technologies such as regular expressions, Beautiful Soup, and Scrapy.

What's inside

Syllabus

Course Overview

Getting Started with Web Scraping

Working with the Parse Tree in BeautifulSoup

Selecting Elements Using the Scrapy Shell

Scraping Web Sites Using Scrapy Spiders

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Develops web retrieval and web scraping with Python using Requests, Beautiful Soup, and Scrapy

Covers the basics of web scraping, from downloading HTML content to parsing and selecting elements

Taught by Janani Ravi, who has experience in web scraping and data mining

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Scraping Your First Web Page with Python with these activities:

Review Regular Expressions

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Refresh your knowledge of regular expressions to better grasp the concepts covered in the web scraping course.

Browse courses on Regular Expressions

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Review online tutorials and resources on regular expressions.
Practice using regular expressions on sample text.

Engage with Experienced Web Scrapers

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Accelerate your learning by seeking guidance from experienced web scrapers.

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Attend industry events and conferences to network with web scraping professionals.
Reach out to experts in the field via email or LinkedIn.
Join online communities and forums dedicated to web scraping.
Request mentorship or guidance from individuals you admire.

Attend Web Scraping Meetups and Conferences

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Expand your knowledge and connect with other web scraping professionals by attending industry events.

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Search for upcoming web scraping meetups and conferences in your area.
Register and attend the events.
Engage in discussions and learn from speakers and attendees.

Six other activities

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Build a Web Scraper for Personal Use

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Solidify your understanding of web scraping by applying it to a project that aligns with your interests.

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Identify a specific web scraping task that interests you.
Research and select suitable web scraping tools and techniques.
Develop and implement your web scraper.

Follow Web Scraping Tutorials

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Complement your learning by exploring online tutorials and resources that demonstrate web scraping techniques.

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Search for beginner-friendly tutorials on web scraping.
Follow step-by-step guides on how to scrape data from websites.
Experiment with the provided code examples.

Practice Web Scraping Exercises

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Strengthen your web scraping skills by completing hands-on exercises and challenges.

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Find online platforms or resources that offer web scraping exercises.
Attempt to scrape data from various websites using the techniques learned in the course.
Compare your results with expected outcomes to identify areas for improvement.

Create a Web Scraping Project

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Apply your web scraping knowledge by developing a project that solves a real-world problem.

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Identify a specific web scraping need or problem to address.
Design and implement a web scraping solution using the techniques learned in the course.
Document your project and share it with others.

Mentor Junior Web Scrapers

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Reinforce your understanding by assisting and guiding others who are new to web scraping.

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Identify opportunities to mentor others, such as joining online forums or volunteering at workshops.
Provide guidance on web scraping techniques, tools, and best practices.
Review and provide feedback on others' web scraping projects.

Contribute to Web Scraping Open Source Projects

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Gain hands-on experience and contribute to the web scraping community by participating in open source projects.

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Explore open source web scraping libraries and frameworks.
Identify areas where you can contribute to existing projects.
Submit pull requests and collaborate with other contributors.

Career center

Learners who complete Scraping Your First Web Page with Python will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

Web Developer

Web Developers are responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining web pages and applications. They use a variety of programming languages and technologies to create websites that are both visually appealing and functional. This course can help you build a foundation in web development by teaching you how to use HTTP libraries to download HTML content, Beautiful Soup to parse web pages, and Scrapy to scrape data from websites.

See salaries and explore the career path for Web Developer

Data Scientist

Data Scientists use their knowledge of data analysis and modeling to solve business problems. They use a variety of tools and technologies to collect, clean, and analyze data, and then use this data to develop models that can predict future outcomes. This course can help you build a foundation in data science by teaching you how to use web scraping to collect data from the web.

See salaries and explore the career path for Data Scientist

Software Engineer

Software Engineers design, develop, and maintain software applications. They use a variety of programming languages and technologies to create software that meets the needs of their users. This course can help you build a foundation in software engineering by teaching you how to use web scraping to collect data from the web, as well as how to parse and manipulate data using Python.

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Research Analyst

Research Analysts collect, analyze, and interpret data to provide insights to businesses and organizations. They use a variety of tools and technologies to collect data from a variety of sources, including the web. This course can help you build a foundation in research analysis by teaching you how to use web scraping to collect data from the web.

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Business Analyst

Business Analysts gather and analyze data to help businesses understand their customers' needs and make better decisions. They use a variety of tools and technologies to collect data from a variety of sources, including the web. This course can help you build a foundation in business analysis by teaching you how to use web scraping to collect data from the web.

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Product Manager

Product Managers are responsible for the development and launch of new products. They work with a variety of stakeholders, including engineers, designers, and marketing professionals, to ensure that new products meet the needs of their customers. This course can help you build a foundation in product management by teaching you how to use web scraping to collect data from the web.

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Marketing Manager

Marketing Managers develop and execute marketing campaigns to promote products and services. They use a variety of tools and technologies to collect data about their target audience and track the effectiveness of their campaigns. This course can help you build a foundation in marketing management by teaching you how to use web scraping to collect data from the web.

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Sales Manager

Sales Managers lead and motivate sales teams to achieve their goals. They use a variety of tools and technologies to track sales performance and identify opportunities for growth. This course may be useful for Sales Managers by teaching them how to use web scraping to collect data about their customers and competitors.

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Customer Success Manager

Customer Success Managers help customers get the most out of their products and services. They use a variety of tools and technologies to track customer satisfaction and identify opportunities for growth. This course may be useful for Customer Success Managers by teaching them how to use web scraping to collect data about their customers.

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Technical Writer

Technical Writers create and maintain documentation for software and other technical products. They use a variety of tools and technologies to create documentation that is clear, concise, and accurate. This course may be useful for Technical Writers by teaching them how to use web scraping to collect data about their products and customers.

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User Experience Designer

User Experience Designers design and develop user interfaces for websites and other digital products. They use a variety of tools and technologies to create interfaces that are both visually appealing and easy to use. This course may be useful for User Experience Designers by teaching them how to use web scraping to collect data about their users.

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Information Architect

Information Architects design and organize websites and other digital products to make them easy to find and use. They use a variety of tools and technologies to create sitemaps, wireframes, and other documentation. This course may be useful for Information Architects by teaching them how to use web scraping to collect data about their users and their needs.

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Librarian

Librarians help people find and use information. They use a variety of tools and technologies to organize and manage libraries and other information resources. This course may be useful for Librarians by teaching them how to use web scraping to collect data about their users and their needs.

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Archivist

Archivists preserve and manage historical records. They use a variety of tools and technologies to organize and manage archives and other historical resources. This course may be useful for Archivists by teaching them how to use web scraping to collect data about their collections and their users.

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Museum curator

Museum Curators manage and preserve collections of artifacts and specimens. They use a variety of tools and technologies to organize and manage museums and other cultural institutions. This course may be useful for Museum Curators by teaching them how to use web scraping to collect data about their collections and their visitors.

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