What is the quickest way to HTTP GET in Python?

python

http-get

python-requests

http-requests

byAnton Shumikhin·Oct 5, 2024

Want a rapid HTTP GET? Just import requests!

import requests
response = requests.get('https://example.com')  # Don't forget to replace with your URL
print(response.text)  # Voila! You've just fetched a webpage.

Before using this, make sure you've got the requests library. If not, just do a quick: pip install requests.

Now let's dive into details with more options and their usage scenarios.

Python's urllib and urllib2: The default contenders

urllib.request in Python 3 and urllib2 in Python 2 are useful if you need to stick with the standard library. Though they come pre-built with Python, they may require more work for complex tasks.

Python 3 example:

import urllib.request  # Importing the library
contents = urllib.request.urlopen("http://example.com/foo/bar").read()  # Here's where the magic happens, don't blink!
print(contents)

Python 2 example:

import urllib2  # Yes, they had to change the name for Python 2!
contents = urllib2.urlopen("http://example.com/foo/bar").read()  # One simple, possibly too simple, line of code!
print(contents)

Take control with urllib3 and httplib2

If you want to have finer control or deal with a large number of requests, the alternatives like urllib3 and httplib2 come in handy.

urllib3's PoolManager offers connection pooling and thread safety:

import urllib3
http = urllib3.PoolManager()
r = http.request('GET', 'http://example.com')
print(r.data)  # Will someone please think of the data?!

httplib2 is concise, but may need additional work for SSL handling:

import httplib2
h = httplib2.Http()
resp, content = h.request("http://example.com", 'GET')
print(content)  # So simple, your grandma can use it!

Battle on simplicity: urllib3 vs requests

urllib3 enhances safety with automatic SSL support. It keeps code simple in complex tasks. But let's face it, we all love requests for its simplicity & human-friendly design. With automatic handling of HTTPS, sessions, and JSON, it is the darling of web developers and automation enthusiasts.

Avoid these common pitfalls

Keep these tips in mind to avoid the most common pitfalls:

Timeouts: Add a timeout to your HTTP requests to prevent hanging.
Exception handling: Use try/except blocks to catch network errors.
Sessions: Repeatedly requesting the same host? Use session objects for performance.
SSL: urllib and urllib2 don't validate SSL certificates by default - be careful!
Encoding: Be aware of different character encodings. Use encoding tools if needed.