Originally published as https://reurl.cc/x7z1LZ
Screen scraping is a data collection technique usually used to copy information that shows on a digital display, typically a webpage. Does this sound a little bit similar to web scraping? Such a question keeps coming in. In this article, we will take a close look at screen scraping, introduce how a screen scraper works, and compare screen scraping to web scraping.
What is Screen Scraping
Screen scraping is usually associated with programmatically collecting visual data from a source, but it can also refer to reading text data from a computer display terminal. We are in the process of extracting data from graphical user interface (GUI) screens in applications and websites.
This process involves capturing screen display data from one application and translating it so that another application can display it. It is commonly done to display data from legacy applications using user interfaces that are more modern.
Why Use Screen Scraping
Techopedia explains screen scraping as:
“Under normal circumstances, a legacy application is either replaced by a new program or brought up to date by rewriting the source code. In some cases, it is desirable to continue using a legacy application but the lack of availability of source code, programmers, or documentation makes it impossible to rewrite or update the…
