Mechanize Python #12 - Python

Introduction

Mechanize is a Python library used for automating interaction with websites. It acts like a web browser that can navigate web sites, submit forms, and download data.

In this tutorial, we will cover how to use Mechanize in Python to perform some common web automation tasks.

Features

• Navigating websites: Mechanize can be used to simulate web browsing and perform actions such as clicking links and submitting forms.
• Form handling: Mechanize can fill out and submit HTML forms with ease.
• Stateful web browsing: Mechanize can maintain state between requests, which allows for a session-like experience.
• Cookie handling: Mechanize can manage cookies, enabling websites to remember users between sessions.
• Proxy support: Mechanize can use proxies to access websites that may be blocked in your region.

Code Examples

To use Mechanize in your Python code, you'll first need to install it. You can do this using pip:

pip install mechanize

Example 1 - Submitting a Form

The following code demonstrates how to use Mechanize to submit a form on a website:

import mechanize

browser = mechanize.Browser()
browser.open("https://example.com/")

# Fill out the form
browser.select_form(nr=0)
browser["username"] = "myusername"
browser["password"] = "mypassword"

# Submit the form
browser.submit()

# Print the response
print browser.response().read()

Example 2 - Downloading a File

Mechanize can also be used to download files from websites. The following code demonstrates how to download a file using Mechanize:

import mechanize

browser = mechanize.Browser()
browser.open("https://example.com/")

# Find the link to the file
link = browser.find_link(text="Download")

# Download the file
browser.follow_link(link)
response = browser.response()

# Save the file
with open("example.txt", "wb") as file:
    file.write(response.read())

print("File downloaded successfully.")

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we learned how to use Mechanize in Python for web automation tasks such as form submission and file downloading. Mechanize offers a simple and powerful API for automating interactions with websites.