Scraping (web scraping, scraping, scraping - it's all the same thing) — the process of automatically collecting and extracting data from websites.
Since scraping is an automated process, the collection, processing and analysis of information is carried out by specially created programs or scraper bots. They use various methods to collect data, including analysis of the HTML code of web pages, and convert the information into a convenient format, such as tables or databases.
First appeared parsing (web parsing) — is the process of analyzing and extracting data from web pages and converting the information into a usable format.
Over time, the process of analyzing content and collecting data from a web application has been divided into two different operations. Now, a crawler (search robot) crawls the site and collects data, and a parser (a special program) analyzes the content and converts the data into the desired format. Web scraping combines the functions of a crawler and a parser.
Price monitoring and product availability tracking.You can be aware of the cost and availability of goods on competitors' websites. The scraper will not only collect data, but also present it in the form of convenient tables and graphs.
Competitor analysis. Before starting a business, you can find out what competition there is on the market and assess your strengths using scraping. For example, study the product range, pricing policy, sales volumes, marketing strategies of competitor companies and other important details.
Research.Scrapers are useful tools for collecting data for research purposes, such as in marketing, sociology, and finance.
Content monitoring.Web scraping makes it easy to monitor internet publications, news articles, social media discussions, and analyze content performance.
Speed of data collection - the scraper quickly extracts information from web pages without manual data collection.
High accuracy of information - The automated scraping process reduces the likelihood of “human errors” that occur during manual data extraction.
Convenient data presentation format — the collected data is presented in the form of tables or graphs, which are easy to work with later.
To perform scraping, you need to determine the purpose and format of the data to be collected as example email scraper. Then create or select a script/program that will access the site:
Information is collected based on parameters that the user sets up: for example, by keywo
Uncontrolled use of scraper bots may violate the rules of the site or cause problems in its operation due to unnecessary load. Negative consequences from scraper bots can be for both web application owners and users.
For example, the performance of a web resource may decrease. Scraper bots create a lot of requests to the server, which leads to server overload and decreased performance - legitimate users will not be able to access the web application.
Some web application owners prohibit automatic scanning and data collection from their site.
NGENIX Edge Logic Rules— service for managing request processing rules.
It is intended for clients who need to configure specific request processing logic based on specific features such as location, device type, IP address, and others. For example, you can restrict or allow access to data, perform JS validation, redirect the request, or add a special header.