Data parsing (or scraping) is the automated collection of information from Web pages or other data sources. A large percentage of companies around the world use parsing to improve marketing strategies, competitive intelligence, trend forecasting, etc. In this article, we’ll look at what parsing is, how it works, what programs are used to perform it, and why you should buy proxy for it.

How does parsing work?

The process of parsing data starts with accessing the source of the information. This is a web page, file or database. The parser then analyzes the content of the source and finds the desired information using a variety of methods and techniques. For example, HTML and CSS are often used to parse web pages and special libraries are used to extract information from PDF files.

After the parser extracts the desired information, it saves it in a specific format, such as a database, CSV file, or Excel file. This data can then be used for analysis, marketing or sales.

Which programs are used for parsing?

There are many programs for parsing data. They differ in functionality, complexity, and cost. Let’s look at a few of them:

  • Beautiful Soup is a library for parsing HTML and XML documents. It is written in Python and allows you to extract data from web pages quickly and without problems. It provides powerful tools for searching and manipulating data, including filtering, searching and modifying web page elements.
  • Scrapy is a framework written in Python. It allows you to automate the process of data extraction as well as to work with data in real time. Scrapy uses an asynchronous working model that allows you to parse large amounts of data in a short time.
  • Selenium is a tool for automating testing of web applications, but it can also be used for parsing data. It simulates user behavior, which comes in handy if you need to log in to a website or bypass data access blockers. Selenium also allows you to work with dynamic web pages that contain forms and buttons.
  • Octoparse is a graphical interface for creating parsers without programming. Supports various data sources, including web pages, databases and PDF and Excel files. Octoparse also provides the ability to automate the parsing process and export information into different formats.

How proxy servers can help parsing data?

Proxy server – acts as an intermediary between the user’s computer and the Internet. It allows you to hide the real IP address of the user and provide anonymous access to websites. It is also used to improve performance and protect against blocking and data access restrictions.

When parsing, proxy servers can be useful in several cases:

  • Some websites deny access to their information for automated requests to protect their data from scrapers. The use of proxy servers allows you to change the IP address from which the site is queried, which removes the ban.
  • Spreading requests across multiple IP addresses improves performance and reduces the risk of being banned. Sending requests from one IP address can be interpreted as a DDoS attack, and the website will blacklist that IP. Using proxy servers distributes requests to other addresses, which reduces the risk of blocking.
  • If a website restricts access to information only to users from a specific country, connecting to a proxy will solve this problem.

How to choose a proxy server for the parser?

PROXYS team is ready to provide you with professional advice and choose an individual proxy server for your parser. In addition, the store provides mobile, ipv4(6) proxies that are located in different regions, which allows you to distribute requests to different IP addresses and reduce the risk of being banned. Proxy servers with high speed and reliability, which allows you to parse quickly and without interruption.