Create a news feed application in python that allows users to specify their interests and shows them the latest news articles related to their interests.
In today world it is essential to stay informed about the latest news and updates in your area of interest. With the help of technology we can now access news articles online with just a few clicks. However finding news articles related to our interests can be a time consuming task. In this blog post we will learn how to create a news feed application that allows users to specify their interests and shows them the latest news articles related to their interests.
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Step 1: Setting up the project
To begin with we need to set up project. For project we will using Python programming language and Flask framework. Flask is a lightweight web framework that allow us to create web application quickly and easily. We also use News API which is popular news generator that provide access to news article from various sources.
To set up the project follow these steps:
- Create a new directory for the project.
- Open the terminal or command prompt and navigate to project directory.
- Create virtual environment by running the command “python -m venv venv” (without the quotes). This will create new folder named “venv” in your project directory that contains virtual environment for your project.
- Activate virtual environment by running command “venv\Scripts\activate” (on Windows) or “source venv/bin/activate” (on Mac/Linux).
- Install required packages by running command “pip install flask requests”.
Step 2: Creating Flask app
Once we have set up project we can create new Flask app. To do this create new file named “app.py” in your project directory and add following code:
from flask import Flask, render_template, request
import requests
app = Flask(__name__)
@app.route('/')
def home():
return render_template('home.html')
@app.route('/news')
def news():
interests = request.args.get('interests')
api_key = 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE'
url = f'https://newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines?country=us&q={interests}&apiKey={api_key}'
response = requests.get(url)
articles = response.json()['articles']
return render_template('news.html', articles=articles)
if __name__ == '__main__':
app.run(debug=True)
In this code, we import the required packages create a new Flask app and define two routes: ‘/’ and ‘/news’. The ‘/’ route renders a simple HTML page with a form that allows users to enter their interests. The ‘/news’ route retrieves the latest news articles related to the user’s interests using the News API and displays them on a new HTML page.
Step 3: Creating the HTML templates
Next we need to create the HTML templates for our app. Create two new files in your project directory named “home.html” and “news.html” and add the following code:
home.html:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>News Feed</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>News Feed</h1>
<form action="/news">
<label for="interests">Enter your interests:</label>
<input type="text" id="interests" name="interests"><br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
news.html:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>News Feed</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>News Feed</h1>
<p>Latest news articles related to {{ interests }}:</p>
{% for article in articles %}
<div>
<h2>{{ article.title }}</h2>
<p>{{ article.description }}</p>
<p><a href="{{ article.url }}">Read more...</a></p>
</div>
{% endfor %}
</body>
</html>
In this code we use the Jinja2 templating engine to display the latest news articles related to the user’s interests. The {{ interests }} variable displays the user’s interests and the for loop iterates through the articles list and displays the title, description, and URL of each article.
Step 4: Obtaining an API key
Before running the app we need to obtain an API key from the News API. Follow these steps to obtain an API key:
- Go to the News API website (https://newsapi.org/) and sign up for a free account.
- Once you have signed up you will receive an API key via email.
- Copy the API key and replace YOUR_API_KEY_HERE in the url variable in app.py with your API key.
Step 5: Running the app
To run the app activate the virtual environment by running the command “venv\Scripts\activate” (on Windows) or “source venv/bin/activate” (on Mac/Linux) in the terminal or command prompt. Then run the command “python app.py” to start the Flask app. Open web browser and navigate to “http://localhost:5000” to access the app.
Conclusion
In this blog post we learned how to create a news feed application using Python, Flask, and the News API. We learned how to set up the project create the Flask app
- define the routes
- create the HTML templates
- obtain an API key.
We also learned how to run the app and access it in a web browser. You can use this code as starting point and customize it to create your own news feed application.
Complete code
Here is the complete code for the
- app.py
- home.html
- news.html
app.py:
from flask import Flask, render_template, request
import requests
app = Flask(__name__)
@app.route('/')
def home():
return render_template('home.html')
@app.route('/news')
def news():
interests = request.args.get('interests')
api_key = 'YOUR_API_KEY_HERE'
url = f'https://newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines?country=us&q={interests}&apiKey={api_key}'
response = requests.get(url)
articles = response.json()['articles']
return render_template('news.html', interests=interests, articles=articles)
if __name__ == '__main__':
app.run(debug=True)
home.html:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>News Feed</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>News Feed</h1>
<form action="/news">
<label for="interests">Enter your interests:</label>
<input type="text" id="interests" name="interests"><br><br>
<input type="submit" value="Submit">
</form>
</body>
</html>
news.html
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<title>News Feed</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>News Feed</h1>
<p>Latest news articles related to {{ interests }}:</p>
{% for article in articles %}
<div>
<h2>{{ article.title }}</h2>
<p>{{ article.description }}</p>
<p><a href="{{ article.url }}">Read more...</a></p>
</div>
{% endfor %}
</body>
</html>
In this code we use the Jinja2 templating engine to display the latest news articles related to the user’s interests. The {{ interests }} variable displays the user’s interests and the for loop iterates through the articles list and displays the title, description and URL of each article.
