Web Data Extraction Solutions for business Automation

Your business today is driven purely and solely by information. This vital component is carved out from data scraped from relevant sources, cleansed and compiled to form the crux of your enterprise analytics plan. Therefore, following a manual practice for Data Extraction often makes it prone to errors which may be detrimental to the health of your business. Various Web Data Extraction Solutions therefore are made available which help to not only automate Website Data Scraping, but in the process also help in the automation of several business processes.  Let us take a look at some of these business processes:

Execute Data Mining

One of the most obvious usages of the data extractor tools is the function of Web Data Mining, which, if done through manual processes is neither cost-effective nor accurate. Therefore, data extraction solutions provide simple and convenient point and click data extraction interfaces. Moreover, these do not require any additional programming knowledge.

Validate Data accuracy

Web Site Data scraping tools use advanced technology to not only extract data, but also validate their accuracy. This is particularly beneficial for businesses which are involved in background screening and credit reporting activities. Automating the process of validating records helps in increasing turnaround time of the business and ensures accuracy, two of the most crucial criteria for achieving success in their line of business.

Be Price Wise

Organizations are always involved in studying the price dynamics in order to better understand the challenges and areas of opportunities. Your awareness on these helps you to provide more competitive pricing for your products and services. Data extraction solutions are equipped with pricing intelligence technology that helps to collect data on the price that your customer’s expect, their feedback on your products and services and helps you develop insights on products being launched by competitors, their price and availability. This automated process therefore ensures the following things for your business:

•    Increased market – share

•    Enhanced product strategy

•    Informed decisions

Be Compliance Ready

If yours is a financial services firm, you must have often found it to be a major challenge to keep yourself abreast of the compliance and risk factors. Tracking the myriad watch lists, sanction lists and federal and state regulations, available on the web is not only time taking but also an expensive endeavor. The automated Web Data Mining tools ensure that you are now able to do this without impacting the time and money aspect of your business. You are now ensured of compliance with all regulations and sanction lists that are updated on a regular basis. Consequently, your business can also breathe easy with a reduced exposure to financial fraud and identity theft.

Easy Access to Customer Feedback

Your customers are in a way the real owners of your business. They define the way you need to design your product strategy. It is therefore crucial that you need to listen to what they have to say.  The automated Web extraction solutions with their ability to tap into several relevant sources help you to get access to customer sentiments and feedback on your products and services. This is a vital aspect in your organization's growth as it helps you to tackle three important factors:

•    Assimilate positive or negative vibes on your newly launched product or service which might require you to revisit your product strategy

•    Provide immediate attention to issues, if any, with any particular product

Create a trend of aggregated customer sentiments, for analysis

Source: http://scraping-solutions.blogspot.in/2014_07_01_archive.html

Scraping a website from a windows service

Question

Hi there.  I have a windows forms application that scrapes a website to retrieve some data.  I would like to implement the same functionality as a windows service.  The reason for this is to allow the program to run 24/7 without  having a user signed in. 

To that end, my current version of the program uses a web browser control (system.windows.forms.webbrowser) to navigate the pages, click the buttons, allow scripts to do their thing, etc.  I cannot figure out a way to do the same without the web browser control, but the web browser control cannot be instantiated in a windows service (because there is no user interface in a web service).

Does anyone have any brilliant ideas on how to get around this?

Thank you very much!

Answers

Hi Andy,

There is a tool which could let you manipulate anything you want on the website. This agile HTML parser builds a read/write DOM and supports plain XPATH or XSLT. It is a .NET code library that allows you to parse "out of the web" HTML files. The parser is very tolerant with "real world" malformed HTML. The object model is very similar to what proposes System.Xml, but for HTML documents (or streams). More information, please check:

http://htmlagilitypack.codeplex.com/

Have a nice day.

Best regards

All replies

You are not telling if you are using a .NET Express edition or not

You are not telling which Framework

You are not realy saying what data you are getting from the web site.

So

I made an example of service that work on any Studio edition (including the Express)

to install it, I supposed that you have at least the Framework2, so you will use something similar to:

    %SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\installutil /i C:\Test\MyWindowService\MyWindowService\bin\Release\MyWindowService.exe

In the example, I supposed that you are downloading some file from the site

You will need a reference to Windows.Form for the timer


Imports System.ServiceProcess

Imports System.Configuration.Install

Public Class WindowsService : Inherits ServiceBase

  Private Minute As Integer = 60000

  Private WithEvents Timer As New Timer With {.Interval = 30 * Minute, .Enabled = True}

  Public Sub New()

    Me.ServiceName = "MyService"

    Me.EventLog.Log = "Application"

    Me.CanHandlePowerEvent = True

    Me.CanHandleSessionChangeEvent = True

    Me.CanPauseAndContinue = True

    Me.CanShutdown = True

    Me.CanStop = True

  End Sub


  Private Sub Timer_Tick(ByVal sender As Object, ByVal e As System.EventArgs) Handles Timer.Tick

    If IO.File.Exists("C:\MyPath.Data") Then IO.File.Delete("C:\MyPath.Data")

    My.Computer.Network.DownloadFile("http://MyURL.com", "C:\MyPath.Data", "MyUserName", "MyPassword")

    'Do Something with the data downloaded

  End Sub

End Class

<Microsoft.VisualBasic.HideModuleName()> _

Module MainModule

  Public TheServiceName As String

  Public Sub main()

    Dim TheServiceApplication As New WindowsService

    TheServiceName = TheServiceApplication.ServiceName

    ServiceBase.Run(TheServiceApplication)

  End Sub

End Module

<System.ComponentModel.RunInstaller(True)> _

Public Class WindowsServiceInstaller : Inherits Installer

  Public Sub New()

    Dim serviceProcessInstaller As ServiceProcessInstaller = New ServiceProcessInstaller()

    Dim serviceInstaller As ServiceInstaller = New ServiceInstaller()

    serviceProcessInstaller.Account = ServiceAccount.LocalSystem

    serviceProcessInstaller.Username = Nothing

    serviceProcessInstaller.Password = Nothing

    serviceInstaller.DisplayName = "My Windows Service"

    serviceInstaller.StartType = ServiceStartMode.Automatic

    serviceInstaller.ServiceName = TheServiceName

    Me.Installers.Add(serviceProcessInstaller)

    Me.Installers.Add(serviceInstaller)

  End Sub

End Class



 Hello Andy,

Thanks for your post.

What do you want to scrape from the page? HttpWebRequest class ans WebClient class may be what you need. More information, please check:

The HttpWebRequest class provides support for the properties and methods defined in WebRequest and for additional properties and methods that enable the user to interact directly with servers using HTTP.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.net.httpwebrequest.aspx

The WebClient class provides common methods for sending data to or receiving data from any local, intranet, or Internet resource identified by a URI

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.net.webclient.aspx

If you have any concenrs, please feel free to follow up.

Best regards



Hi Andy,

What about this problem on your side now? If you have any concerns, please feel free to follow up.

Have a nice day.

Best regards



Hi Andy,

When you come back, if you need further assistance about this issue, please feel free to let us know. We will continue to work with this issue.

Have a nice day.

Best regards



Thank you for the reply. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond.  I did not receive any notification that someone had replied!

I am using Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate Edition and the .NET framework 4.0.  Actually, I am upgrading some old code written in VB 6.0, but I can use the latest and greatest thats available.

The application uses a browser control to go to the page, fill in values, click on UI elements, read the HTML that returns, etc.  The purpose of the application is to collection useful information regularily/automatically.

I know how to create a web service, but using the web control in such a service is problematic because the web browser control was meant to be placed on a windows form.  I am not able to create a new instance of it in a project designated as a windows service.



Andy

Thank you for the reply. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond.  I did not receive any notification that someone had replied!

I thought a web request was for web services (retrieving information from them).  I am trying to retreive useful information from a website designed for interaction by a human, such as selecting items from lists and clicking buttons.   I currently use a web browser control to programmatically do what a person would do and get the pages back which in turn get parsed.

Andy



Hi Andy,

There is a tool which could let you manipulate anything you want on the website. This agile HTML parser builds a read/write DOM and supports plain XPATH or XSLT. It is a .NET code library that allows you to parse "out of the web" HTML files. The parser is very tolerant with "real world" malformed HTML. The object model is very similar to what proposes System.Xml, but for HTML documents (or streams). More information, please check:

http://htmlagilitypack.codeplex.com/

Have a nice day.

Best regards



Thanks for the suggestion.  I will go to that link and see if it will work.  I will update this post with what I find.

I am writing to check the status of the issue on your side. Would you mind letting us know the result of the suggestions? If you have any concerns, please feel free to follow up.

Have a nice day.



Best regards

Hi Liliane

Thank for the follow up reply.  I don't have an answer as of yet.  Implementing this is going to take time and I haven't been given the go-ahead by my boss to spend the time to pursue it.



Hi Andy,

Never minde. You could have a try when you feel free. If you have any further questions about this issue, please feel free to let us know. We will continue to work with you on this issue.

Have a nice day.

Best regards

Source: https://social.msdn.microsoft.com/Forums/vstudio/en-US/f5d565b1-236b-43c2-90c7-f5cc3b2c341b/scraping-a-website-from-a-windows-service

Data Mining and Market Research

Online market research attributes to success and growth of many businesses. Online market research in simple terms we can say it is the learning of current and the latest market situations which involve surveys, web and data mining modules. To date research by use of the internet it is very important since it depends on data gathered from internet services and then one can recognize that market research keeps the business successful.

A number of managers in small businesses have a mental deem in that online market research is obligatory to big or larger companies. For true you will understand that whether the businesses is medium, large or small actually need online marketing research and this is a reason why the significance of the process and allegation will approve the targeted and potential clients. In this case Data mining progression is employed to streamline on what targeted and potential clientele needs. Areas where data mining is used:

Preferences. In any given service or product, you will learn what a customer looking for and how your product or service is different from other competitors. By use of Data mining you will be able to determine the customer preferences and you will be able to modify your services and products meet the customer choice.

Buying patterns. What is known and created for purchasing patterns from different customers. A situation can be that customers try to spend a lot on certain products and little on others. But through Data mining it is easy to understand such purchasing patterns and finally plan the appropriate techniques to be used in the marketing.

Prices. To find out whether the company is selling its products to the clients or not prices are the key factors to take into account. One should understand on the right selling price of the products. Web scrapping is easier to find the suitable pricing.

Source: http://www.loginworks.com/blogs/web-scraping-blogs/data-mining-market-research/