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python requests post data vs json

Narkw Brahma

Narkw Brahma

• 1 min read

Python Requests Post Data vs JSON

If you are working with APIs, then you might have come across the terms "POST Data" and "JSON". Both of these are used to send data from one application to another. However, they are used in different ways.

POST Data

POST data refers to the data that is sent in the body of an HTTP POST request. This data can be in any format such as plain text, XML, or JSON. When you send POST data, you need to specify the content type of the data using the "Content-Type" header.


import requests

url = "https://example.com"
data = {"key1": "value1", "key2": "value2"}

response = requests.post(url, data=data)
print(response.text)

In the above example, we are sending POST data to the "url" using the Python Requests library. We are sending a dictionary of data as the "data" parameter. The "Content-Type" header is automatically set to "application/x-www-form-urlencoded".

JSON

JSON is a lightweight data interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write, and easy for machines to parse and generate. JSON data can be sent as the body of an HTTP request, just like any other data format.


import requests
import json

url = "https://example.com"
data = {"key1": "value1", "key2": "value2"}

json_data = json.dumps(data)

headers = {"Content-Type": "application/json"}

response = requests.post(url, data=json_data, headers=headers)
print(response.text)

In the above example, we are sending JSON data to the "url" using the Python Requests library. We are first converting the dictionary of data to a JSON string using the "json.dumps()" function. We are then setting the "Content-Type" header to "application/json".

Conclusion

Both POST data and JSON are used to send data from one application to another. POST data is a general term used for any kind of data that is sent in the body of an HTTP POST request. JSON is a specific data format that is used to send structured data. When sending JSON data, you need to set the "Content-Type" header to "application/json".

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