Learning how to perform HTTP POST requests

A POST request is another very common HTTP server request used by many APIs. We will be mining the University of Virginia directory search. When sending a POST request for a search query, the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) server replies with a web page of search results.

Getting ready

For this recipe, access to the Internet is necessary.

Install the HandsomeSoup CSS selector package, and also install the HXT library if it is not already installed:

$ cabal install HandsomeSoup
$ cabal install hxt

How to do it...

  1. Import the following libraries:
    import Network.HTTP
import Network.URI (parseURI)
import Text.XML.HXT.Core
import Text.HandsomeSoup
import Data.Maybe (fromJust)
  2. Define the POST request ...

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