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2024-12-12
In our previous articles, we explored the basics of web scraping, including reconnaissance, research, and data extraction. However, many websites impose limitations on the number of results returned per page, hindering our ability to retrieve large datasets. In this article, we’ll delve into advanced techniques to overcome these limitations and extract comprehensive data from websites like Artsy.
Understanding the Challenge
Artsy, a renowned online art marketplace, limits the number of artworks displayed per page. While this pagination is convenient for users, it presents a challenge for web scrapers. We need a strategy to efficiently extract a significant portion of the 1.8 million+ artworks without being constrained by these limits.
A Strategic Approach
One effective method is to leverage the “Artists” section of Artsy. Each artist can have multiple artworks associated with them. By systematically scraping artists and their corresponding artworks, we can potentially access a substantial portion of the entire dataset.
The Process
1. Retrieving Artists:
– Identify the URL patterns for artist pages, including pagination parameters.
– Iterate through alphabetical ranges (A-Z) to scrape artist names and URLs for each page.
– Store the retrieved artist data in a structured format (e.g., CSV, JSON).
2. Extracting Artworks:
– For each artist, visit their dedicated page and extract information such as:
– Artwork titles
– Artist names
– Creation dates
– Mediums
– Dimensions
– Image URLs
– Descriptions
– Handle pagination within artist pages to ensure complete data extraction.
3. Downloading Artworks:
– Use appropriate libraries (e.g., `requests`, `urllib`) to download images from the extracted URLs.
– Consider asynchronous techniques to optimize download speed and efficiency.
What Undercode Says:
While this approach offers a robust solution to pagination limitations, it’s important to be mindful of ethical considerations and website terms of service. Respect rate limits, avoid overloading servers, and adhere to any specific guidelines or robots.txt rules.
Furthermore, consider the scalability of your scraping project. As the number of artworks and artists grows, you may need to refine your strategy to handle increased data volumes and potential changes to the website’s structure.
By carefully planning and executing your web scraping endeavors, you can effectively navigate pagination challenges and extract valuable insights from large-scale datasets.
References:
Reported By: Huggingface.co
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Wikipedia: https://www.wikipedia.org
Undercode AI: https://ai.undercodetesting.com
Image Source:
OpenAI: https://craiyon.com
Undercode AI DI v2: https://ai.undercode.help
