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Why use screen scraping application?
Web pages are mostly formatted in HTML and are available
to users for plain viewing purposes only. At times, when
information from a page is required, the page is downloaded
and stored. But an optimal solution is needed when information
from the web is to be regularly downloaded and converted
to specified formats. Most web pages use HTML formatting
and other scripting which is not often understood by common
users.
Data retrieved form the web often consist elements that
are not deciphered or required. There are several methods
that need programming know-how to scrape the relevant data
minus their codes. However, this is not a convenient option
for users who are unaware about programming.
What can you do with screen scraping application?
Screen scraping software offer the ease of reading data
from the web and storing the required data. This data can
be stored into formats or applications specified by the
user. Screen scraping also enables automatic data download
and compilation with minimum user input.
Automated screen scraping capability can be used to download
and update data related to-
 Mutual
funds
Competitor
information like pricing for marketing updates
Real
estate details for comparisons
Tips for choosing a Screen scraping application
A suitable screen scraping software must have the following
features:
- User friendly Interface: An easy to use interface
which is flexible to suit any format or technology.
- Recording Capability: Recording capabilities
to automate screen scraping with a one time input.
- Download options: Options which enable the
user to scrape data directly from an application or
from the web into specified locations.
- OCR Capability: Optical Character recognition
or OCR for users who use screen scraping to covert images
into text.
- Non-intrusive features so that the software
can run in the background while other applications are
used.
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Screen
scraping – The Whats & Whys!
