Advanced URL Parser Tool
A URL parser breaks down URLs into components like protocol, domain, path, and query parameters. Explore different URL parsers in Python, JavaScript, Node.js, Java, PHP, and online tools.
What is an URL parser?
Have you seen the web address of a website? This web address, also known as a URL helps your computer find a particular page on the Internet. Imagine that the URL is the address of a home on a street. When you enter it into your computer, it will know exactly where it should go. Sometimes, however, it is not enough to simply look at an address. We need to understand and break it down. A URL Parser can help.
A URL parser is an application or code that allows us to break down URLs into smaller pieces so that we can better understand them and use them for other purposes. We’ll look at the way URL parsers function and how they help us.
What Makes a URL?
Let’s learn the components of a URL before we get into how a URL Parser works. The URL looks like this:
Bash
https://www.example.com:80/page?name=JohnDoe&age=5#about
The URL is broken down into the following parts:
- Protocol: https:// This tells your browser how to connect with the website.
- Domain: www.example.com This is the address of the website.
- Port: 80 (not always displayed) – This is the number of the door that will help us locate the exact location in the building.
- Path: /page This shows you the page that you are looking for on the website.
- Query: name=JohnDoe&age=5 – This part is used to send extra information to the website. Think of it like adding a note to the letter you send.
- Fragment #about – This tells your browser to jump directly to a certain part of the webpage after the page has loaded.
What is a URL parser?
A URL Parser breaks a URL down into its constituent pieces, so that we can use them easily in our code. It allows us to access only the parts of the URL that we need like the path, query parameters or domain name.
Let’s say, for example, you have the following URL:
Bash
https://www.example.com:80/page?name=JohnDoe&age=5#about
The URL can be broken down into pieces like this:
- Protocol: http
- Domain: www.example.com
- Port: 80
- Path: /page
- Query: name: “JohnDoe”, age: “5”
- Fragment: About
After the URL has been broken down, we can use specific pieces to get information like the “name” of the page from the query string, or jump directly to the “about section” of the webpage.
Python URL Parser
A URL Parser in Python can be used to break URLs down into their component parts, which is extremely useful for programmers. Python’s urllib library includes tools to parse URLs if you are writing a program that needs to handle URLs.
This is how a Python URL Parser functions:
Python
From urllib.parse, import urlparse
url = ‘https://www.example.com:80/page?name=JohnDoe&age=5#about’
parsed_url = urlparse(url)print(parsed_url.scheme) # https
print(parsed_url.netloc) # www.example.com:80
print(parsed_url.path) # /page
print(parsed_url.query) # name=JohnDoe&age=5
print(parsed_url.fragment) # about
We use Python’s urlparse() to break the URL down into smaller pieces that we can use in our program. We can, for example, extract the path /page and get the query name=JohnDoe&age=5 to work with the data!
URL Parser Online
You can use URL Parser online tools if you do not want to write any code. You can paste in a URL and it will be automatically broken down.
You can, for example, use a URL Parser online tool to find out all the details of a URL such as this:
- Visit the website.
- Enter your URL in the box.
- Click “Parse or Submit.”
- You can see the various parts of the URL on the website.
These tools can be very useful when you want to see quickly what is inside a URL, without having to write code.
JavaScript URL Parser
You can parse URLs in JavaScript using the URL object. This is very useful when working with websites, because JavaScript runs on your browser.
Here’s how to parse an URL in JavaScript.
javascript
const url = new URL(‘https://www.example.com:80/page?name=JohnDoe&age=5#about’);
console.log(url.protocol); // https
console.log(url.hostname); // www.example.com
console.log(url.port); // 80
console.log(url.pathname); // /page
console.log(url.search); // ?name=JohnDoe&age=5
console.log(url.hash); // #about
This example shows how JavaScript’s URL object breaks the URL down into its various parts. These parts can be accessed like url.protocol and url.hostname.
URL Parser (Node.js – Node.js).
You can parse URLs using the url module of NPM (Node Package Manager), if you are working with Node.js.
Here is an example on how to use the URL Parser NPM package with Node.js.
Javascript
Const url = ‘url’;
const parsedUrl = url.parse(‘https://www.example.com:80/page?name=JohnDoe&age=5#about’);
console.log(parsedUrl.protocol); // https:
console.log(parsedUrl.hostname); // www.example.com
console.log(parsedUrl.pathname); // /page
console.log(parsedUrl.query); // name=JohnDoe&age=5
console.log(parsedUrl.hash); // #about
Using Node.js’ url module you can parse and access URLs in your server side code.
Java URL Parser
You can parse URLs in Java using the java.net.URL object. This is similar to JavaScript’s URL object, but in Java.
How to use a Java URL Parser:
Java
Import java.net.URL
{public class Main Public class Main
{ public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception Public static void main (String[] arguments) throws an Exception
URL url = new URL(“https://www.example.com:80/page?name=JohnDoe&age=5#about”);System.out.println(“Protocol: “ + url.getProtocol()); // https
System.out.println(“Host: ” + url.getHost()); // www.example.com
System.out.println(“Port: “ + url.getPort()); // 80
System.out.println(“Path: “ + url.getPath()); // /page
System.out.println(“Query: “ + url.getQuery()); // name=JohnDoe&age=5
System.out.println(“Ref: “ + url.getRef()); // about
}
}
You can easily access the host, protocol, and path of a URL using the java.net.URL.
Online Query Parameters Parser
Sometimes, when dealing with URLs you only need the query parameters (the portion after the?). ). For example, this URL:
Arduino
https://www.example.com/page?name=JohnDoe&age=5
Use the Parse Query Params From URL Online tool to extract key-value pairs such as name=JohnDoe, age=5, etc. These tools allow you to easily see the information that is sent to the site in the query string.
URL Query String parser
The URL Query String parser breaks down the part that follows the?. In this URL, for example:
arduino
https://www.example.com/page?name=JohnDoe&age=5
The query string name=JohnDoe&age=5 is the query string. This can be broken down into a JSON-like object by a query string parser.
json
{
“name”: “JohnDoe”,
“age”: “5”
}
It is now easier to use the information contained in the query string.
JSON Formatter
After parsing data or a URL, you may want to format the result into a neat, readable format. JSON Formatter helps you to take messy data and turn it into something easy to understand.
If you have, for example, this long string of information:
json
“name”:“JohnDoe”,“age”:“5”
Use a JSON formatter to make the code look better.
json
{
“name”: “JohnDoe”,
“age”: “5”
}
It is easier to read, and therefore more convenient for the human being!
URL Parser for PHP
You can use PHP’s parse_url() built-in function to decode a URL. It’s similar to other URL parsers in that it lets you extract each part of a URL.
Here is an example of PHP code:
PHP
<?php
$url = ‘https://www.example.com:80/page?name=JohnDoe&age=5#about’;
$parsed_url = parse_url($url);
echo $parsed_url[‘scheme’]; // https
echo $parsed_url[‘host’]; // www.example.com
echo $parsed_url[‘path’]; // /page
echo $parsed_url[‘query’]; // name=JohnDoe&age=5
echo $parsed_url[‘fragment’]; // about
?>
When building web applications, this PHP function simplifies the handling of URLs.
The conclusion of the article is:
A URL parser is an application that can break down a URL to smaller pieces so you can work with it. There are many ways to parse a URL, whether you use Python, JavaScript or PHP. If you don’t like writing code, you can use online URL parsers.
You can use URL parsers to extract valuable information from URLs like query parameters and fragments. This will make your life as a developer a lot easier!