What is the difference between Static & Dynamic Web Scraping?
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Hey Macy,
Static HTML pages are traditional websites that store all their contents in an HTML document and present it when a request is made. In this case, the server does not need to maintain a connection since all the information will be available locally. Here, data can be scraped using tools that let you scrap data from static pages.
To make use of a dynamic website, a user has to create an account and log in. After that, the user can create events and write about them using the Markdown syntax. The list of events is then populated to the website.
The HTTP agent is ideal for recording simple interactions such as browsing a static HTML site or executing a few test scripts. For websites that require a high level of dynamic interaction and interface automation, I recommend using the Selenium C# library.
For Scraping Dynamic Web Pages Using Selenium And C# go through the following blog:
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Static and dynamic web scraping refer to two different approaches to extracting data from websites. The main difference between the two is how they interact with the website and the data that they can extract.
Static web scraping refers to the process of extracting data from a website that is delivered in a static HTML format. This means that the content of the website is fixed and does not change unless the website is updated. Static web scraping tools typically extract data from the HTML code of the website, either by parsing the HTML directly or by using a tool like XPath to extract specific elements from the HTML. Static web scraping is typically faster and more straightforward than dynamic web scraping, as the content of the website is predictable and can be accessed without any complex interactions.
Dynamic web scraping, on the other hand, refers to the process of extracting data from a website that is generated dynamically using JavaScript or other client-side technologies. This means that the content of the website may change based on user interactions or other factors, and the data that you want to extract may not be present in the HTML when it is first loaded. Dynamic web scraping tools typically use a headless browser, which is a tool that allows you to interact with a website in the same way that a user would, to extract data from the website. Dynamic web scraping can be more complex and time-consuming than static web scraping, as it requires more processing power and may involve dealing with website interactions and dynamic content.
In summary, static web scraping is used for extracting data from websites that do not change much, while dynamic web scraping is used for extracting data from websites that generate content dynamically.