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News Aggregator

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Abstract

News Aggregator is a Python application that fetches and displays the latest news headlines from multiple sources using public APIs. It demonstrates API integration, data parsing, and GUI development with Tkinter. This project is ideal for learning about REST APIs, JSON handling, and building interactive desktop apps.

Prerequisites

  • Python 3.6 or above
  • requests module (pip install requestspip install requests)
  • tkinter (usually pre-installed)
  • Internet connection

Before you Start

Before starting, ensure you have Python and a code editor installed. Install the requestsrequests library using pip install requestspip install requests. Obtain a free API key from NewsAPI.

Getting Started

  1. Create a folder named news-aggregatornews-aggregator.
  2. Create a file named news_aggregator.pynews_aggregator.py.
  3. Copy the code below into your file.
⚙️ News Aggregator
News Aggregator
"""
News Aggregator
 
A news aggregator application with the following features:
- Fetch news articles from multiple sources using RSS feeds or APIs
- Categorize news articles by topic (e.g., technology, sports, etc.)
- Search functionality to find specific articles
- Save favorite articles for later reading
"""
 
import feedparser
from tkinter import Tk, Label, Entry, Button, Listbox, Scrollbar, StringVar, messagebox
 
 
class NewsAggregator:
    def __init__(self, root):
        self.root = root
        self.root.title("News Aggregator")
 
        self.feeds = {
            "Technology": "https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml",
            "Sports": "https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Sports.xml",
            "World": "https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/World.xml",
        }
 
        self.articles = []
        self.selected_feed = StringVar(value="Technology")
 
        self.setup_ui()
 
    def setup_ui(self):
        """Set up the user interface."""
        Label(self.root, text="Select Category:").pack(pady=5)
        for category in self.feeds.keys():
            Button(self.root, text=category, command=lambda c=category: self.fetch_articles(c)).pack(pady=2)
 
        Label(self.root, text="Articles:").pack(pady=5)
        self.article_list = Listbox(self.root, width=80, height=20)
        self.article_list.pack(pady=5)
 
        scrollbar = Scrollbar(self.article_list)
        scrollbar.pack(side="right", fill="y")
 
        Button(self.root, text="View Article", command=self.view_article).pack(pady=5)
        Button(self.root, text="Save to Favorites", command=self.save_to_favorites).pack(pady=5)
 
    def fetch_articles(self, category):
        """Fetch articles from the selected category."""
        feed_url = self.feeds.get(category)
        if not feed_url:
            messagebox.showerror("Error", "Invalid category selected.")
            return
 
        try:
            feed = feedparser.parse(feed_url)
            self.articles = feed.entries
 
            self.article_list.delete(0, "end")
            for article in self.articles:
                self.article_list.insert("end", article.title)
 
            messagebox.showinfo("Success", f"Fetched {len(self.articles)} articles from {category}.")
        except Exception as e:
            messagebox.showerror("Error", f"Failed to fetch articles: {e}")
 
    def view_article(self):
        """View the selected article."""
        selected_index = self.article_list.curselection()
        if not selected_index:
            messagebox.showerror("Error", "No article selected.")
            return
 
        article = self.articles[selected_index[0]]
        messagebox.showinfo("Article", f"Title: {article.title}\n\n{article.summary}")
 
    def save_to_favorites(self):
        """Save the selected article to favorites."""
        selected_index = self.article_list.curselection()
        if not selected_index:
            messagebox.showerror("Error", "No article selected.")
            return
 
        article = self.articles[selected_index[0]]
        with open("favorites.txt", "a") as file:
            file.write(f"{article.title}\n{article.link}\n\n")
 
        messagebox.showinfo("Success", "Article saved to favorites.")
 
 
def main():
    root = Tk()
    app = NewsAggregator(root)
    root.mainloop()
 
 
if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
News Aggregator
"""
News Aggregator
 
A news aggregator application with the following features:
- Fetch news articles from multiple sources using RSS feeds or APIs
- Categorize news articles by topic (e.g., technology, sports, etc.)
- Search functionality to find specific articles
- Save favorite articles for later reading
"""
 
import feedparser
from tkinter import Tk, Label, Entry, Button, Listbox, Scrollbar, StringVar, messagebox
 
 
class NewsAggregator:
    def __init__(self, root):
        self.root = root
        self.root.title("News Aggregator")
 
        self.feeds = {
            "Technology": "https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Technology.xml",
            "Sports": "https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/Sports.xml",
            "World": "https://rss.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/nyt/World.xml",
        }
 
        self.articles = []
        self.selected_feed = StringVar(value="Technology")
 
        self.setup_ui()
 
    def setup_ui(self):
        """Set up the user interface."""
        Label(self.root, text="Select Category:").pack(pady=5)
        for category in self.feeds.keys():
            Button(self.root, text=category, command=lambda c=category: self.fetch_articles(c)).pack(pady=2)
 
        Label(self.root, text="Articles:").pack(pady=5)
        self.article_list = Listbox(self.root, width=80, height=20)
        self.article_list.pack(pady=5)
 
        scrollbar = Scrollbar(self.article_list)
        scrollbar.pack(side="right", fill="y")
 
        Button(self.root, text="View Article", command=self.view_article).pack(pady=5)
        Button(self.root, text="Save to Favorites", command=self.save_to_favorites).pack(pady=5)
 
    def fetch_articles(self, category):
        """Fetch articles from the selected category."""
        feed_url = self.feeds.get(category)
        if not feed_url:
            messagebox.showerror("Error", "Invalid category selected.")
            return
 
        try:
            feed = feedparser.parse(feed_url)
            self.articles = feed.entries
 
            self.article_list.delete(0, "end")
            for article in self.articles:
                self.article_list.insert("end", article.title)
 
            messagebox.showinfo("Success", f"Fetched {len(self.articles)} articles from {category}.")
        except Exception as e:
            messagebox.showerror("Error", f"Failed to fetch articles: {e}")
 
    def view_article(self):
        """View the selected article."""
        selected_index = self.article_list.curselection()
        if not selected_index:
            messagebox.showerror("Error", "No article selected.")
            return
 
        article = self.articles[selected_index[0]]
        messagebox.showinfo("Article", f"Title: {article.title}\n\n{article.summary}")
 
    def save_to_favorites(self):
        """Save the selected article to favorites."""
        selected_index = self.article_list.curselection()
        if not selected_index:
            messagebox.showerror("Error", "No article selected.")
            return
 
        article = self.articles[selected_index[0]]
        with open("favorites.txt", "a") as file:
            file.write(f"{article.title}\n{article.link}\n\n")
 
        messagebox.showinfo("Success", "Article saved to favorites.")
 
 
def main():
    root = Tk()
    app = NewsAggregator(root)
    root.mainloop()
 
 
if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
  1. Run the script: python news_aggregator.pypython news_aggregator.py

Explanation

Code Breakdown

  1. Import modules
import requests
import tkinter as tk
import requests
import tkinter as tk
  1. Fetch news from API
def fetch_news():
    url = 'https://newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines?country=us&apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY'
    response = requests.get(url)
    data = response.json()
    return [article['title'] for article in data['articles']]
def fetch_news():
    url = 'https://newsapi.org/v2/top-headlines?country=us&apiKey=YOUR_API_KEY'
    response = requests.get(url)
    data = response.json()
    return [article['title'] for article in data['articles']]
  1. Display headlines in GUI
root = tk.Tk()
root.title('News Aggregator')
listbox = tk.Listbox(root, width=80)
listbox.pack(pady=20)
for headline in fetch_news():
    listbox.insert(tk.END, headline)
root.mainloop()
root = tk.Tk()
root.title('News Aggregator')
listbox = tk.Listbox(root, width=80)
listbox.pack(pady=20)
for headline in fetch_news():
    listbox.insert(tk.END, headline)
root.mainloop()

Features

  • Fetches latest headlines from multiple sources
  • Simple Tkinter GUI for display
  • Easy to extend for more sources
  • Demonstrates API and JSON usage

How It Works

  • Uses requests to call news API
  • Parses JSON response
  • Displays headlines in a listbox

GUI Components

  • Listbox: Shows headlines
  • Window Title: News Aggregator
  • Padding: For readability

Use Cases

  • Stay updated with news
  • Learn API integration
  • Build custom news dashboards

Next Steps

You can enhance this project by:

  • Adding more news sources
  • Displaying summaries and images
  • Implementing search/filter
  • Saving favorite articles
  • Adding refresh button
  • Supporting multiple countries/languages

Enhanced Version Ideas

def fetch_news_with_images():
    # Fetch headlines and images
    pass
 
def search_news(query):
    # Search for news by keyword
    pass
def fetch_news_with_images():
    # Fetch headlines and images
    pass
 
def search_news(query):
    # Search for news by keyword
    pass

Troubleshooting Tips

  • API key errors: Check your key
  • No headlines: Check internet connection
  • GUI not showing: Ensure Tkinter is installed

Conclusion

This project teaches API usage, JSON parsing, and GUI basics. Extend it for more features and sources. Great for learning real-world Python and desktop app development.

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