Question 1

How much faster is Nokolexbor than Nokogiri for web scraping?

Accepted Answer

Nokolexbor can parse HTML up to 4.7x faster and execute CSS selectors up to 1352x faster than Nokogiri, based on benchmarks with a 367KB page. However, XPath speed remains unchanged.

Question 2

Is Nokolexbor a drop-in replacement for Nokogiri?

Accepted Answer

Mostly yes, as it aims for API compatibility, but there are minor differences in CSS selector behavior, such as with :nth-of-type pseudo-classes, that might require code tweaks for edge cases.

Question 3

How to handle CSS selectors with mixed syntax like div/text() in Nokolexbor?

Accepted Answer

The standard css method doesn't support mixed syntax; you must use the nokogiri_css method, which requires Nokogiri to be installed alongside, adding an extra dependency for those queries.

Question 4

Nokolexbor vs Nokogiri: which one should I use?

Accepted Answer

Choose Nokolexbor if you need maximum speed for CSS selectors and parsing, and can handle compatibility quirks. Stick with Nokogiri if you rely on exact behavior or mixed syntax without additional dependencies.

Question 5

How to install Nokolexbor on a platform without pre-compiled gems?

Accepted Answer

On unsupported platforms, install CMake first (e.g., via brew on macOS or apt-get on Linux), then compile the C extensions during gem installation, which adds setup steps compared to standard gems.

Question 6

Does Nokolexbor support selecting text nodes with CSS?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it supports direct text node selection using the ::text pseudo-element in CSS selectors, a feature that simplifies extracting text content without complex XPath or workarounds.

Nokolexbor

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