Python Requests X-Requested-With
When making web requests using the Python Requests library, you may come across the X-Requested-With header. This header is commonly used to identify Ajax requests made by web applications.
The X-Requested-With header can be set to any string value, but commonly it is set to XMLHttpRequest. When this header is present in an HTTP request, it indicates that the request was made by a JavaScript XMLHttpRequest object.
How to Use X-Requested-With Header in Python Requests
To set the X-Requested-With header in a Python Requests HTTP request, you can use the headers parameter of the requests.get() or requests.post() methods.
import requests
url = 'https://example.com/ajax'
headers = {'X-Requested-With': 'XMLHttpRequest'}
response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
In the above example, we are making a GET request to https://example.com/ajax with the X-Requested-With header set to XMLHttpRequest.
Why Use X-Requested-With Header
The primary purpose of the X-Requested-With header is to help web servers identify requests made by Ajax applications. By knowing that a request was made by an Ajax application, the server can respond with data in a format that is easy to process with JavaScript.
Without the X-Requested-With header, it may be difficult for web servers to distinguish between requests made by Ajax applications and normal web requests. This could lead to issues such as returning data in a format that is not easy to process with JavaScript or returning too much data, which can slow down the application.
Conclusion
The X-Requested-With header is a useful tool for identifying Ajax requests made by web applications. By using this header in Python Requests, you can make sure that your web server responds with data that is easy to process with JavaScript.