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python requests vs aiohttp

Narkw Brahma

Narkw Brahma

• 1 min read

Python Requests vs Aiohttp

Python requests and aiohttp are two popular libraries used for making HTTP requests in Python. Both libraries are useful and have their own advantages and disadvantages depending on the use case.

Python Requests

Python requests library is a simple and easy-to-use library for making HTTP requests. It provides a high-level interface to send HTTP/1.1 requests using Python. Python requests library is built on top of urllib3 library and it supports various HTTP methods like GET, POST, DELETE, PUT, etc.

Python requests library is best suited for small to medium-sized projects where a simple and easy-to-use interface is required. It is also good for making synchronous requests where the response of one request is needed before sending another request.


import requests

response = requests.get('https://www.example.com')
print(response.text)

Aiohttp

Aiohttp is an asynchronous library for making HTTP requests. It is built on top of asyncio library and provides an asynchronous interface for sending HTTP requests. Aiohttp is best suited for large-scale projects where high concurrency is required. It also provides support for HTTP/2 protocol.

Aiohttp library is good for making asynchronous requests where multiple requests can be sent at the same time without waiting for the response of the previous request. This makes it ideal for applications that require high performance and low latency.


import aiohttp
import asyncio

async def fetch(session, url):
    async with session.get(url) as response:
        return await response.text()

async def main():
    async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
        html = await fetch(session, "https://www.example.com")
        print(html)

loop = asyncio.get_event_loop()
loop.run_until_complete(main())

Conclusion

Both Python requests and aiohttp libraries are useful for making HTTP requests in Python. Choosing one over the other depends on the use case and requirements of the project. Python requests library is simple and easy-to-use, while aiohttp library is best suited for high concurrency and low latency applications.

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