Definition
Web Crawlers
Automated programs that systematically browse the internet to collect information from web pages.
- Traditional web crawlers operate sequentially, processing one web page at a time.
- However, as the web has grown exponentially, sequential crawling has become inefficient.
- To address this, parallel web crawling techniques have been developed, allowing multiple crawlers to work simultaneously.
Parallel web crawling is essential for handling the vast scale and dynamic nature of the modern web, enabling faster and more efficient data collection.
How Parallel Web Crawling Works
Multiple Crawlers
- In parallel web crawling, multiple crawler instances run concurrently, each responsible for a subset of the web.
- These crawlers can operate on different machines or within a distributed system, allowing for greater scalability.
Task Distribution
- The web is divided into segments, and each crawler is assigned a specific segment to process.
- This division can be based on various criteria, such as domain, URL patterns, or geographical location.
