A Beginner’s Guide to HTTP Python Requests
In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use the Python Requests library to make HTTP requests. You'll see how to use the library to make GET, POST, and PUT requests, as well as how to make authenticated requests. You'll also learn how to handle errors and timeouts when making HTTP requests.
Requests is a Python library that you can use to make HTTP requests. It's simple to use, and it's great for making quick HTTP requests without having to write a lot of code.
In this tutorial, you'll learn how to use the Python Requests library to make HTTP requests. You'll see how to use the library to make GET, POST, and PUT requests, as well as how to make authenticated requests. You'll also learn how to handle errors and timeouts when making HTTP requests.
Installing the Requests Library
Before you can start using the Requests library, you'll need to install it. The best way to install the Requests library is with pip, a Python package manager.
To install Requests with pip, open a terminal and run the following command:
pip install requests
Making GET Requests
The most common HTTP request is the GET request. GET requests are used to retrieve data from a server.
To make a GET request with the Requests library, you'll need to use the request() method. The request() method takes two arguments: the URL of the resource you want to retrieve, and the HTTP method you want to use.
For example, to make a GET request to https://example.com/, you would use the following code:
requests.get("https://example.com/")
Making POST Requests
POST requests are used to send data to a server.
To make a POST request with the Requests library, you'll need to use the request() method. The request() method takes three arguments: the URL of the resource you want to retrieve, the HTTP method you want to use, and a data keyword argument.
The data keyword argument is used to specify the data you want to send to the server. The data argument should be a dictionary. The keys in the dictionary will be used as the form data, and the values will be used as the form values.
For example, to make a POST request to https://example.com/ with form data, you would use the following code:
requests.post("https://example.com/", data={"key1": "value1", "key2": "value2"})
Making PUT Requests
PUT requests are used to update data on a server.
To make a PUT request with the Requests library, you'll need to use the request() method. The request() method takes three arguments: the URL of the resource you want to retrieve, the HTTP method you want to use, and a data keyword argument.
The data keyword argument is used to specify the data you want to send to the server. The data argument should be a dictionary. The keys in the dictionary will be used as the form data, and the values will be used as the form values.
For example, to make a PUT request to https://example.com/ with form data, you would use the following code:
requests.put("https://example.com/", data={"key1": "value1", "key2": "value2"})
Making DELETE Requests
DELETE requests are used to delete data on a server.
To make a DELETE request with the Requests library, you'll need to use the request() method. The request() method takes two arguments: the URL of the resource you want to retrieve, and the HTTP method you want to use.
For example, to make a DELETE request to https://example.com/, you would use the following code:
requests.delete("https://example.com/")
Making Authenticated Requests
Some HTTP requests require authentication. To make an authenticated request with the Requests library, you'll need to use the request() method. The request() method takes three arguments: the URL of the resource you want to retrieve, the HTTP method you want to use, and an auth keyword argument.
The auth keyword argument is used to specify the authentication credentials you want to use. The auth argument should be a tuple of two elements: the username and the password.
For example, to make an authenticated request to https://example.com/ with a username of "user" and a password of "pass", you would use the following code:
requests.get("https://example.com/", auth=("user", "pass"))
Handling Errors and Timeouts
When making HTTP requests, it's important to handle errors and timeouts gracefully.
Errors can occur for a variety of reasons, such as an invalid URL, a connection error, or an HTTP error. Timeouts can occur if the server takes too long to respond to a request.
To handle errors and timeouts gracefully, you can use the request() method. The request() method takes two keyword arguments: the allow_redirects keyword argument, and the timeout keyword argument.
The allow_redirects keyword argument is used to specify whether or not the Requests library should follow redirects. The timeout keyword argument is used to specify the number of seconds the Requests library should wait for a response from the server.
For example, to make a request to https://example.com/ with a timeout of 10 seconds, you would use the following code:
requests.get("https://example.com/", timeout=10)
Conclusion
In this tutorial, you've learned how to use the Python Requests library to make HTTP requests. You've seen how to use the library to make GET, POST, and PUT requests, as well as how to make authenticated requests. You've also learned how to handle errors and timeouts when making HTTP requests.
