By default, Web Scraper does not guarantee ordered data. Why is that? Because Web Scraper can process multiple tasks simultaneously, and the tasks that are completed first are placed ahead of others. Therefore, the order depends on the speed at which each task is finished. To ensure that the scraped data matches the order on the webpage, we can use CouchDB to maintain data sequence. CouchDB captures data in real-time and stores it in a database, sorted by time, thereby ensuring consistency in the order.
Alternatively, other methods can be employed. For example, the data can first be scraped and saved, along with the sorting criteria (such as a specific attribute). The data can then be exported in CSV format and opened in Excel, where it can be sorted based on a particular column, like the publication time in the case of Weibo data. By sorting the data according to the publication time in Excel, the desired order can be achieved.
This way, whether the scraped data is initially ordered or not, the final displayed results will be sorted as needed. This resolves the issue of inconsistent order between the scraped data and the original webpage. I hope this article provides you with some helpful insights.