Hands-On Web Scraping with Python

Work through practical examples to unlock the full potential of web scraping with Python and gain valuable insights from high-quality dataKey FeaturesBuild an initial portfolio of web scraping projects with detailed explanationsGrasp Python programming fundamentals related to web scraping and data extractionAcquire skills to code web scrapers, store data in desired formats, and employ the data professionallyPurchase of the print or Kindle book includes a free PDF eBookBook DescriptionWeb scraping is a powerful tool for extracting data from the web, but it can be daunting for those without a technical background. Designed for novices, this book will help you grasp the fundamentals of web scraping and Python programming, even if you have no prior experience.Adopting a practical, hands-on approach, this updated edition of Hands-On Web Scraping with Python uses real-world examples and exercises to explain key concepts. Starting with an introduction to web scraping fundamentals and Python programming, you’ll cover a range of scraping techniques, including requests, lxml, pyquery, Scrapy, and Beautiful Soup. You’ll also get to grips with advanced topics such as secure web handling, web APIs, Selenium for web scraping, PDF extraction, regex, data analysis, EDA reports, visualization, and machine learning.This book emphasizes the importance of learning by doing. Each chapter integrates examples that demonstrate practical techniques and related skills. By the end of this book, you’ll be equipped with the skills to extract data from websites, a solid understanding of web scraping and Python programming, and the confidence to use these skills in your projects for analysis, visualization, and information discovery.What you will learnMaster web scraping techniques to extract data from real-world websitesImplement popular web scraping libraries such as requests, lxml, Scrapy, and pyqueryDevelop advanced skills in web scraping, APIs, PDF extraction, regex, and machine learningAnalyze and visualize data with Pandas and PlotlyDevelop a practical portfolio to demonstrate your web scraping skillsUnderstand best practices and ethical concerns in web scraping and data extractionWho this book is forThis book is for beginners who want to learn web scraping and data extraction using Python. No prior programming knowledge is required, but a basic understanding of web-related concepts such as websites, browsers, and HTML is assumed. If you enjoy learning by doing and want to build a portfolio of web scraping projects and delve into data-related studies and application, then this book is tailored for your needs.

Anish Chapagain is a software engineer with a passion for data science, and artificial intelligence, its processes and Python programming, which began around 2007. He has been working with web scraping, data analysis, visualization and reporting-related tasks, projects for more than 10 years, and is also working as freelancer. Anish previously worked as a trainer, web/software developer, team leader, and as a banker, where he was exposed to data and gained further insights into topics like data mining, data analysis, reporting, information processing and knowledge discovery. He has an MSc in computer systems from Bangor University (United Kingdom), and an Executive MBA from Himalayan Whitehouse International College, Kathmandu, Nepal.