What does "headless browser" mean? Does scraping a website violate the law?Read More
What does "headless browser" mean?
The term "headless browser" refers to a web browser that does not have a user interface (UI). Software developers define instructions in different programming languages. In most cases, headless browsers are used for automated quality assurance tests, or for scraping websites.
Does scraping a website violate the law?
It is common for websites to allow other software to scrape their content. If you intend to scrape a website, please refer to its robots exclusion standard (robots.txt file), which describes which pages you can scrape. Ensure that you are allowed to scrape by checking the terms of service.
How does a headless environment work?
A headless device or software does not have a user interface or input mechanism such as a keyboard or mouse. Computer software designed to provide services to other computers or servers is commonly referred to as a "headless environment.".
Headless Chrome: what is it?
Based on the same underlying technology, Headless Chrome is essentially the Google Chrome web browser without the graphical user interface (GUI). A script written by a software developer controls Headless Chrome.
How does Google Puppeteer work?
Google's Chrome development team maintains Puppeteer, a Node.js library. Headless Chrome, Chromium, or the DevTools protocol can be controlled through Puppeteer's high-level API.
What is Selenium?
Selenium is a software testing framework for web applications, not a front-end framework like Angular or React. Typically, it's used to automate quality assurance tests on headless browsers, but it can also be used for website administration.