How to Decode HTML Entities in Python?

Decoding HTML Entities in Python: A Comprehensive Reference

When parsing HTML content using BeautifulSoup, one may encounter issues with HTML entities remaining encoded. To decode these entities and obtain the actual text content, various approaches can be employed depending on the Python version in use.

Python 3.4

In Python 3.4 and above, the html.unescape() function offers a straightforward method for decoding HTML entities:

import html
print(html.unescape('£682m'))

This will return the desired output: "£682m".

Python 2.6-3.3

For Python versions between 2.6 and 3.3, the HTMLParser.unescape() method proves useful:

try:
    # Python 2.6-2.7
    from HTMLParser import HTMLParser
except ImportError:
    # Python 3
    from html.parser import HTMLParser

h = HTMLParser()
print(h.unescape('£682m'))

Alternatively, the six compatibility library can simplify module imports, enabling the use of HTMLParser across Python versions:

from six.moves.html_parser import HTMLParser
h = HTMLParser()
print(h.unescape('£682m'))

By utilizing these Python tools, developers can efficiently decode HTML entities and obtain the desired text content for their parsing needs.

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