Quickstart: Use a Bing Web Search client library

Warning

On October 30, 2020, the Bing Search APIs moved from Azure AI services to Bing Search Services. This documentation is provided for reference only. For updated documentation, see the Bing search API documentation. For instructions on creating new Azure resources for Bing search, see Create a Bing Search resource through the Azure Marketplace.

The Bing Web Search client library makes it easy to integrate Bing Web Search into your C# application. In this quickstart, you'll learn how to instantiate a client, send a request, and print the response.

Want to see the code right now? Samples for the Bing Search client libraries for .NET are available on GitHub.

Prerequisites

Here are a few things that you'll need before running this quickstart:

Create an Azure resource

Start using the Bing Web Search API by creating one of the following Azure resources:

Bing Search v7 resource

  • Available through the Azure portal until you delete the resource.
  • Use the free pricing tier to try the service, and upgrade later to a paid tier for production.

Multi-service resource

  • Available through the Azure portal until you delete the resource.
  • Use the same key and endpoint for your applications, across multiple Azure AI services.

Create a project and install dependencies

Tip

Get the latest code as a Visual Studio solution from GitHub.

The first step is to create a new console project. If you need help with setting up a console project, see Hello World -- Your First Program (C# Programming Guide). To use the Bing Web Search SDK in your application, you'll need to install Microsoft.Azure.CognitiveServices.Search.WebSearch using the NuGet Package Manager.

The Web Search SDK package also installs:

  • Microsoft.Rest.ClientRuntime
  • Microsoft.Rest.ClientRuntime.Azure
  • Newtonsoft.Json

Declare dependencies

Open your project in Visual Studio or Visual Studio Code and import these dependencies:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using Microsoft.Azure.CognitiveServices.Search.WebSearch;
using Microsoft.Azure.CognitiveServices.Search.WebSearch.Models;
using System.Linq;
using System.Threading.Tasks;

Create project scaffolding

When you created your new console project, a namespace and class for your application should have been created. Your program should look like this example:

namespace WebSearchSDK
{
    class YOUR_PROGRAM
    {

        // The code in the following sections goes here.

    }
}

In the following sections, we'll build our sample application within this class.

Construct a request

This code constructs the search query.

public static async Task WebResults(WebSearchClient client)
{
    try
    {
        var webData = await client.Web.SearchAsync(query: "Yosemite National Park");
        Console.WriteLine("Searching for \"Yosemite National Park\"");

        // Code for handling responses is provided in the next section...

    }
    catch (Exception ex)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Encountered exception. " + ex.Message);
    }
}

Handle the response

Next, let's add some code to parse the response and print the results. The Name and Url for the first web page, image, news article, and video are printed if present in the response object.

if (webData?.WebPages?.Value?.Count > 0)
{
    // find the first web page
    var firstWebPagesResult = webData.WebPages.Value.FirstOrDefault();

    if (firstWebPagesResult != null)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Webpage Results # {0}", webData.WebPages.Value.Count);
        Console.WriteLine("First web page name: {0} ", firstWebPagesResult.Name);
        Console.WriteLine("First web page URL: {0} ", firstWebPagesResult.Url);
    }
    else
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Didn't find any web pages...");
    }
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Didn't find any web pages...");
}

/*
 * Images
 * If the search response contains images, the first result's name
 * and url are printed.
 */
if (webData?.Images?.Value?.Count > 0)
{
    // find the first image result
    var firstImageResult = webData.Images.Value.FirstOrDefault();

    if (firstImageResult != null)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Image Results # {0}", webData.Images.Value.Count);
        Console.WriteLine("First Image result name: {0} ", firstImageResult.Name);
        Console.WriteLine("First Image result URL: {0} ", firstImageResult.ContentUrl);
    }
    else
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Didn't find any images...");
    }
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Didn't find any images...");
}

/*
 * News
 * If the search response contains news articles, the first result's name
 * and url are printed.
 */
if (webData?.News?.Value?.Count > 0)
{
    // find the first news result
    var firstNewsResult = webData.News.Value.FirstOrDefault();

    if (firstNewsResult != null)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("\r\nNews Results # {0}", webData.News.Value.Count);
        Console.WriteLine("First news result name: {0} ", firstNewsResult.Name);
        Console.WriteLine("First news result URL: {0} ", firstNewsResult.Url);
    }
    else
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Didn't find any news articles...");
    }
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Didn't find any news articles...");
}

/*
 * Videos
 * If the search response contains videos, the first result's name
 * and url are printed.
 */
if (webData?.Videos?.Value?.Count > 0)
{
    // find the first video result
    var firstVideoResult = webData.Videos.Value.FirstOrDefault();

    if (firstVideoResult != null)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("\r\nVideo Results # {0}", webData.Videos.Value.Count);
        Console.WriteLine("First Video result name: {0} ", firstVideoResult.Name);
        Console.WriteLine("First Video result URL: {0} ", firstVideoResult.ContentUrl);
    }
    else
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Didn't find any videos...");
    }
}
else
{
    Console.WriteLine("Didn't find any videos...");
}

Declare the main method

In this application, the main method includes code that instantiates the client, validates the subscriptionKey, and calls WebResults. Make sure that you enter a valid subscription key for your Azure account before continuing.

static async Task Main(string[] args)
{
    var client = new WebSearchClient(new ApiKeyServiceClientCredentials("YOUR_SUBSCRIPTION_KEY"));

    await WebResults(client);

    Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit...");
    Console.ReadKey();
}

Run the application

Let's run the application!

dotnet run

Define functions and filter results

Now that you've made your first call to the Bing Web Search API, let's look at a few functions that highlight SDK functionality for refining queries and filtering results. Each function can be added to your C# application created in the previous section.

Limit the number of results returned by Bing

This sample uses the count and offset parameters to limit the number of results returned for "Best restaurants in Seattle". The Name and Url for the first result are printed.

  1. Add this code to your console project:

    public static async Task WebResultsWithCountAndOffset(WebSearchClient client)
    {
        try
        {
            var webData = await client.Web.SearchAsync(query: "Best restaurants in Seattle", offset: 10, count: 20);
            Console.WriteLine("\r\nSearching for \" Best restaurants in Seattle \"");
    
            if (webData?.WebPages?.Value?.Count > 0)
            {
                var firstWebPagesResult = webData.WebPages.Value.FirstOrDefault();
    
                if (firstWebPagesResult != null)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Web Results #{0}", webData.WebPages.Value.Count);
                    Console.WriteLine("First web page name: {0} ", firstWebPagesResult.Name);
                    Console.WriteLine("First web page URL: {0} ", firstWebPagesResult.Url);
                }
                else
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Couldn't find first web result!");
                }
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Didn't see any Web data..");
            }
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Encountered exception. " + ex.Message);
        }
    }
    
  2. Add WebResultsWithCountAndOffset to main:

    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new WebSearchClient(new ApiKeyServiceClientCredentials("YOUR_SUBSCRIPTION_KEY"));
    
        await WebResults(client);
        // Search with count and offset...
        await WebResultsWithCountAndOffset(client);  
    
        Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit...");
        Console.ReadKey();
    }
    
  3. Run the application.

Filter for news

This sample uses the response_filter parameter to filter search results. The search results returned are limited to news articles for "Microsoft". The Name and Url for the first result are printed.

  1. Add this code to your console project:

    public static async Task WebSearchWithResponseFilter(WebSearchClient client)
    {
        try
        {
            IList<string> responseFilterstrings = new List<string>() { "news" };
            var webData = await client.Web.SearchAsync(query: "Microsoft", responseFilter: responseFilterstrings);
            Console.WriteLine("\r\nSearching for \" Microsoft \" with response filter \"news\"");
    
            if (webData?.News?.Value?.Count > 0)
            {
                var firstNewsResult = webData.News.Value.FirstOrDefault();
    
                if (firstNewsResult != null)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("News Results #{0}", webData.News.Value.Count);
                    Console.WriteLine("First news result name: {0} ", firstNewsResult.Name);
                    Console.WriteLine("First news result URL: {0} ", firstNewsResult.Url);
                }
                else
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Couldn't find first News results!");
                }
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Didn't see any News data..");
            }
    
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Encountered exception. " + ex.Message);
        }
    }
    
  2. Add WebResultsWithCountAndOffset to main:

    static Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new WebSearchClient(new ApiKeyServiceClientCredentials("YOUR_SUBSCRIPTION_KEY"));
    
        await WebResults(client);
        // Search with count and offset...
        await WebResultsWithCountAndOffset(client);  
        // Search with news filter...
        await WebSearchWithResponseFilter(client);
    
        Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit...");
        Console.ReadKey();
    }
    
  3. Run the application.

Use safe search, answer count, and the promote filter

This sample uses the answer_count, promote, and safe_search parameters to filter search results for "Music Videos". The Name and ContentUrl for the first result are displayed.

  1. Add this code to your console project:

    public static async Task WebSearchWithAnswerCountPromoteAndSafeSearch(WebSearchClient client)
    {
        try
        {
            IList<string> promoteAnswertypeStrings = new List<string>() { "videos" };
            var webData = await client.Web.SearchAsync(query: "Music Videos", answerCount: 2, promote: promoteAnswertypeStrings, safeSearch: SafeSearch.Strict);
            Console.WriteLine("\r\nSearching for \"Music Videos\"");
    
            if (webData?.Videos?.Value?.Count > 0)
            {
                var firstVideosResult = webData.Videos.Value.FirstOrDefault();
    
                if (firstVideosResult != null)
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Video Results # {0}", webData.Videos.Value.Count);
                    Console.WriteLine("First Video result name: {0} ", firstVideosResult.Name);
                    Console.WriteLine("First Video result URL: {0} ", firstVideosResult.ContentUrl);
                }
                else
                {
                    Console.WriteLine("Couldn't find videos results!");
                }
            }
            else
            {
                Console.WriteLine("Didn't see any data..");
            }
        }
        catch (Exception ex)
        {
            Console.WriteLine("Encountered exception. " + ex.Message);
        }
    }
    
  2. Add WebResultsWithCountAndOffset to main:

    static async Task Main(string[] args)
    {
        var client = new WebSearchClient(new ApiKeyServiceClientCredentials("YOUR_SUBSCRIPTION_KEY"));
    
        await WebResults(client);
        // Search with count and offset...
        await WebResultsWithCountAndOffset(client);  
        // Search with news filter...
        await WebSearchWithResponseFilter(client);
        // Search with answer count, promote, and safe search
        await WebSearchWithAnswerCountPromoteAndSafeSearch(client);
    
        Console.WriteLine("Press any key to exit...");
        Console.ReadKey();
    }
    
  3. Run the application.

Clean up resources

When you're done with this project, make sure to remove your subscription key from the application's code.

Next steps

The Bing Web Search client library makes it easy to integrate Bing Web Search into your Java application. In this quickstart, you'll learn how to send a request, receive a JSON response, and filter and parse the results.

Want to see the code right now? Samples for the Bing Search client libraries for Java are available on GitHub.

Prerequisites

Here are a few things that you'll need before running this quickstart:

Create an Azure resource

Start using the Bing Web Search API by creating one of the following Azure resources:

Bing Search v7 resource

  • Available through the Azure portal until you delete the resource.
  • Use the free pricing tier to try the service, and upgrade later to a paid tier for production.

Multi-service resource

  • Available through the Azure portal until you delete the resource.
  • Use the same key and endpoint for your applications, across multiple Azure AI services.

Create a project and set up your POM file

Create a new Java project using Maven or your favorite build automation tool. Assuming that you're using Maven, add the following lines to your Project Object Model (POM) file. Replace all instances of mainClass with your application.

<build>
    <plugins>
      <plugin>
        <groupId>org.codehaus.mojo</groupId>
        <artifactId>exec-maven-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>1.4.0</version>
        <configuration>
          <!--Your comment
            Replace the mainClass with the path to your Java application.
            It should begin with com and doesn't require the .java extension.
            For example: com.bingwebsearch.app.BingWebSearchSample. This maps to
            The following directory structure:
            src/main/java/com/bingwebsearch/app/BingWebSearchSample.java.
          -->
          <mainClass>com.path.to.your.app.APP_NAME</mainClass>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
      <plugin>
        <artifactId>maven-compiler-plugin</artifactId>
        <version>3.0</version>
        <configuration>
          <source>1.7</source>
          <target>1.7</target>
        </configuration>
      </plugin>
      <plugin>
        <artifactId>maven-assembly-plugin</artifactId>
        <executions>
          <execution>
            <phase>package</phase>
            <goals>
              <goal>attached</goal>
            </goals>
            <configuration>
              <descriptorRefs>
                <descriptorRef>jar-with-dependencies</descriptorRef>
              </descriptorRefs>
              <archive>
                <manifest>
                  <!--Your comment
                    Replace the mainClass with the path to your Java application.
                    For example: com.bingwebsearch.app.BingWebSearchSample.java.
                    This maps to the following directory structure:
                    src/main/java/com/bingwebsearch/app/BingWebSearchSample.java.
                  -->
                  <mainClass>com.path.to.your.app.APP_NAME.java</mainClass>
                </manifest>
              </archive>
            </configuration>
          </execution>
        </executions>
      </plugin>
    </plugins>
  </build>
  <dependencies>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.microsoft.azure</groupId>
      <artifactId>azure</artifactId>
      <version>1.9.0</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>commons-net</groupId>
      <artifactId>commons-net</artifactId>
      <version>3.3</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
      <groupId>com.microsoft.azure.cognitiveservices</groupId>
      <artifactId>azure-cognitiveservices-websearch</artifactId>
      <version>1.0.1</version>
    </dependency>
  </dependencies>

Declare dependencies

Open your project in your favorite IDE or editor and import these dependencies:

import com.microsoft.azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.BingWebSearchAPI;
import com.microsoft.azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.BingWebSearchManager;
import com.microsoft.azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.models.ImageObject;
import com.microsoft.azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.models.NewsArticle;
import com.microsoft.azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.models.SearchResponse;
import com.microsoft.azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.models.VideoObject;
import com.microsoft.azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.models.WebPage;

If you created the project with Maven, the package should already be declared. Otherwise, declare the package now. For example:

package com.bingwebsearch.app

Declare the BingWebSearchSample class

Declare the BingWebSearchSample class. It will include most of our code including the main method.

public class BingWebSearchSample {

// The code in the following sections goes here.

}

Construct a request

The runSample method, which lives in the BingWebSearchSample class, constructs the request. Copy this code into your application:

public static boolean runSample(BingWebSearchAPI client) {
    /*
     * This function performs the search.
     *
     * @param client instance of the Bing Web Search API client
     * @return true if sample runs successfully
     */
    try {
        /*
         * Performs a search based on the .withQuery and prints the name and
         * url for the first web pages, image, news, and video result
         * included in the response.
         */
        System.out.println("Searched Web for \"Xbox\"");
        // Construct the request.
        SearchResponse webData = client.bingWebs().search()
            .withQuery("Xbox")
            .withMarket("en-us")
            .withCount(10)
            .execute();

// Code continues in the next section...

Handle the response

Next, let's add some code to parse the response and print the results. The name and url for the first web page, image, news article, and video are printed when included in the response object.

/*
* WebPages
* If the search response has web pages, the first result's name
* and url are printed.
*/
if (webData != null && webData.webPages() != null && webData.webPages().value() != null &&
        webData.webPages().value().size() > 0) {
    // find the first web page
    WebPage firstWebPagesResult = webData.webPages().value().get(0);

    if (firstWebPagesResult != null) {
        System.out.println(String.format("Webpage Results#%d", webData.webPages().value().size()));
        System.out.println(String.format("First web page name: %s ", firstWebPagesResult.name()));
        System.out.println(String.format("First web page URL: %s ", firstWebPagesResult.url()));
    } else {
        System.out.println("Couldn't find the first web result!");
    }
} else {
    System.out.println("Didn't find any web pages...");
}
/*
 * Images
 * If the search response has images, the first result's name
 * and url are printed.
 */
if (webData != null && webData.images() != null && webData.images().value() != null &&
        webData.images().value().size() > 0) {
    // find the first image result
    ImageObject firstImageResult = webData.images().value().get(0);

    if (firstImageResult != null) {
        System.out.println(String.format("Image Results#%d", webData.images().value().size()));
        System.out.println(String.format("First Image result name: %s ", firstImageResult.name()));
        System.out.println(String.format("First Image result URL: %s ", firstImageResult.contentUrl()));
    } else {
        System.out.println("Couldn't find the first image result!");
    }
} else {
    System.out.println("Didn't find any images...");
}
/*
 * News
 * If the search response has news articles, the first result's name
 * and url are printed.
 */
if (webData != null && webData.news() != null && webData.news().value() != null &&
        webData.news().value().size() > 0) {
    // find the first news result
    NewsArticle firstNewsResult = webData.news().value().get(0);
    if (firstNewsResult != null) {
        System.out.println(String.format("News Results#%d", webData.news().value().size()));
        System.out.println(String.format("First news result name: %s ", firstNewsResult.name()));
        System.out.println(String.format("First news result URL: %s ", firstNewsResult.url()));
    } else {
        System.out.println("Couldn't find the first news result!");
    }
} else {
    System.out.println("Didn't find any news articles...");
}

/*
 * Videos
 * If the search response has videos, the first result's name
 * and url are printed.
 */
if (webData != null && webData.videos() != null && webData.videos().value() != null &&
        webData.videos().value().size() > 0) {
    // find the first video result
    VideoObject firstVideoResult = webData.videos().value().get(0);

    if (firstVideoResult != null) {
        System.out.println(String.format("Video Results#%s", webData.videos().value().size()));
        System.out.println(String.format("First Video result name: %s ", firstVideoResult.name()));
        System.out.println(String.format("First Video result URL: %s ", firstVideoResult.contentUrl()));
    } else {
        System.out.println("Couldn't find the first video result!");
    }
} else {
    System.out.println("Didn't find any videos...");
}

Declare the main method

In this application, the main method includes code that instantiates the client, validates the subscriptionKey, and calls runSample. Make sure that you enter a valid subscription key for your Azure account before continuing.

public static void main(String[] args) {
    try {
        // Enter a valid subscription key for your account.
        final String subscriptionKey = "YOUR_SUBSCRIPTION_KEY";
        // Instantiate the client.
        BingWebSearchAPI client = BingWebSearchManager.authenticate(subscriptionKey);
        // Make a call to the Bing Web Search API.
        runSample(client);
    } catch (Exception e) {
        System.out.println(e.getMessage());
        e.printStackTrace();
    }
}

Run the program

The final step is to run your program!

mvn compile exec:java

Clean up resources

When you're done with this project, make sure to remove your subscription key from the program's code.

Next steps

See also

The Bing Web Search client library makes it easy to integrate Bing Web Search into your Node.js application. In this quickstart, you'll learn how to instantiate a client, send a request, and print the response.

Want to see the code right now? Samples for the Bing Search client libraries for JavaScript are available on GitHub.

Prerequisites

Here are a few things that you'll need before running this quickstart:

Create an Azure resource

Start using the Bing Web Search API by creating one of the following Azure resources:

Bing Search v7 resource

  • Available through the Azure portal until you delete the resource.
  • Use the free pricing tier to try the service, and upgrade later to a paid tier for production.

Multi-service resource

  • Available through the Azure portal until you delete the resource.
  • Use the same key and endpoint for your applications, across multiple Azure AI services.

Set up your development environment

Let's start by setting up the development environment for our Node.js project.

  1. Create a new directory for your project:

    mkdir YOUR_PROJECT
    
  2. Create a new package file:

    cd YOUR_PROJECT
    npm init
    
  3. Now, let's install some Azure modules and add them to the package.json:

    npm install --save @azure/cognitiveservices-websearch
    npm install --save @azure/ms-rest-azure-js
    

Create a project and declare required modules

In the same directory as your package.json, create a new Node.js project using your favorite IDE or editor. For example: sample.js.

Next, copy this code into your project. It loads the modules installed in the previous section.

const CognitiveServicesCredentials = require('@azure/ms-rest-azure-js').CognitiveServicesCredentials;
const WebSearchAPIClient = require('@azure/cognitiveservices-websearch');

Instantiate the client

This code instantiates a client and using the @azure/cognitiveservices-websearch module. Make sure that you enter a valid subscription key for your Azure account before continuing.

let credentials = new CognitiveServicesCredentials('YOUR-ACCESS-KEY');
let webSearchApiClient = new WebSearchAPIClient(credentials);

Make a request and print the results

Use the client to send a search query to Bing Web Search. If the response includes results for any of the items in the properties array, the result.value is printed to console.

webSearchApiClient.web.search('seahawks').then((result) => {
    let properties = ["images", "webPages", "news", "videos"];
    for (let i = 0; i < properties.length; i++) {
        if (result[properties[i]]) {
            console.log(result[properties[i]].value);
        } else {
            console.log(`No ${properties[i]} data`);
        }
    }
}).catch((err) => {
    throw err;
})

Run the program

The final step is to run your program!

Clean up resources

When you're done with this project, make sure to remove your subscription key from the program's code.

Next steps

See also

The Bing Web Search client library makes it easy to integrate Bing Web Search into your Python application. In this quickstart, you'll learn how to send a request, receive a JSON response, and filter and parse the results.

Want to see the code right now? Samples for the Bing Search client libraries for Python are available on GitHub.

Prerequisites

The Bing Web Search SDK is compatible with Python 2.7 or 3.6+. We recommend using a virtual environment for this quickstart.

Create an Azure resource

Start using the Bing Web Search API by creating one of the following Azure resources:

Bing Search v7 resource

  • Available through the Azure portal until you delete the resource.
  • Use the free pricing tier to try the service, and upgrade later to a paid tier for production.

Multi-service resource

  • Available through the Azure portal until you delete the resource.
  • Use the same key and endpoint for your applications, across multiple Azure AI services.

Create and configure your virtual environment

The instructions to set up and configure a virtual environment are different for Python 2.x and Python 3.x. Follow the steps below to create and initialize your virtual environment.

Python 2.x

Create a virtual environment with virtualenv for Python 2.7:

virtualenv mytestenv

Activate your environment:

cd mytestenv
source bin/activate

Install Bing Web Search SDK dependencies:

python -m pip install azure-cognitiveservices-search-websearch

Python 3.x

Create a virtual environment with venv for Python 3.x:

python -m venv mytestenv

Activate your environment:

mytestenv\Scripts\activate.bat

Install Bing Web Search SDK dependencies:

cd mytestenv
python -m pip install azure-cognitiveservices-search-websearch

Create a client and print your first results

Now that you've set up your virtual environment and installed dependencies, let's create a client. The client will handle requests to and responses from the Bing Web Search API.

If the response contains web pages, images, news, or videos, the first result for each is printed.

  1. Create a new Python project using your favorite IDE or editor.

  2. Copy this sample code into your project. endpoint can be the global endpoint below, or the custom subdomain endpoint displayed in the Azure portal for your resource.:

    # Import required modules.
    from azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch import WebSearchClient
    from azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.models import SafeSearch
    from msrest.authentication import CognitiveServicesCredentials
    
    # Replace with your subscription key.
    subscription_key = "YOUR_SUBSCRIPTION_KEY"
    
    # Instantiate the client and replace with your endpoint.
    client = WebSearchClient(endpoint="YOUR_ENDPOINT", credentials=CognitiveServicesCredentials(subscription_key))
    
    # Make a request. Replace Yosemite if you'd like.
    web_data = client.web.search(query="Yosemite")
    print("\r\nSearched for Query# \" Yosemite \"")
    
    '''
    Web pages
    If the search response contains web pages, the first result's name and url
    are printed.
    '''
    if hasattr(web_data.web_pages, 'value'):
    
        print("\r\nWebpage Results#{}".format(len(web_data.web_pages.value)))
    
        first_web_page = web_data.web_pages.value[0]
        print("First web page name: {} ".format(first_web_page.name))
        print("First web page URL: {} ".format(first_web_page.url))
    
    else:
        print("Didn't find any web pages...")
    
    '''
    Images
    If the search response contains images, the first result's name and url
    are printed.
    '''
    if hasattr(web_data.images, 'value'):
    
        print("\r\nImage Results#{}".format(len(web_data.images.value)))
    
        first_image = web_data.images.value[0]
        print("First Image name: {} ".format(first_image.name))
        print("First Image URL: {} ".format(first_image.url))
    
    else:
        print("Didn't find any images...")
    
    '''
    News
    If the search response contains news, the first result's name and url
    are printed.
    '''
    if hasattr(web_data.news, 'value'):
    
        print("\r\nNews Results#{}".format(len(web_data.news.value)))
    
        first_news = web_data.news.value[0]
        print("First News name: {} ".format(first_news.name))
        print("First News URL: {} ".format(first_news.url))
    
    else:
        print("Didn't find any news...")
    
    '''
    If the search response contains videos, the first result's name and url
    are printed.
    '''
    if hasattr(web_data.videos, 'value'):
    
        print("\r\nVideos Results#{}".format(len(web_data.videos.value)))
    
        first_video = web_data.videos.value[0]
        print("First Videos name: {} ".format(first_video.name))
        print("First Videos URL: {} ".format(first_video.url))
    
    else:
        print("Didn't find any videos...")
    
  3. Replace SUBSCRIPTION_KEY with a valid subscription key.

  4. Replace YOUR_ENDPOINT with your endpoint url in portal and remove the "bing/v7.0" section from the endpoint.

  5. Run the program. For example: python your_program.py.

Define functions and filter results

Now that you've made your first call to the Bing Web Search API, let's look at a few functions. The following sections highlight SDK functionality for refining queries and filtering results. Each function can be added to the Python program you created in the previous section.

Limit the number of results returned by Bing

This sample uses the count and offset parameters to limit the number of results returned using the SDK's search method. The name and url for the first result are printed.

  1. Add this code to your Python project:

     # Declare the function.
     def web_results_with_count_and_offset(subscription_key):
         client = WebSearchAPI(CognitiveServicesCredentials(subscription_key))
    
         try:
             '''
             Set the query, offset, and count using the SDK's search method. See:
             https://learn.microsoft.com/python/api/azure-cognitiveservices-search-websearch/azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.operations.weboperations?view=azure-python.
             '''
             web_data = client.web.search(query="Best restaurants in Seattle", offset=10, count=20)
             print("\r\nSearching for \"Best restaurants in Seattle\"")
    
             if web_data.web_pages.value:
                 '''
                 If web pages are available, print the # of responses, and the first and second
                 web pages returned.
                 '''
                 print("Webpage Results#{}".format(len(web_data.web_pages.value)))
    
                 first_web_page = web_data.web_pages.value[0]
                 print("First web page name: {} ".format(first_web_page.name))
                 print("First web page URL: {} ".format(first_web_page.url))
    
             else:
                 print("Didn't find any web pages...")
    
         except Exception as err:
             print("Encountered exception. {}".format(err))
    
  2. Run the program.

Filter for news and freshness

This sample uses the response_filter and freshness parameters to filter search results using the SDK's search method. The search results returned are limited to news articles and pages that Bing has discovered within the last 24 hours. The name and url for the first result are printed.

  1. Add this code to your Python project:

    # Declare the function.
    def web_search_with_response_filter(subscription_key):
        client = WebSearchAPI(CognitiveServicesCredentials(subscription_key))
        try:
            '''
            Set the query, response_filter, and freshness using the SDK's search method. See:
            https://learn.microsoft.com/python/api/azure-cognitiveservices-search-websearch/azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.operations.weboperations?view=azure-python.
            '''
            web_data = client.web.search(query="xbox",
                response_filter=["News"],
                freshness="Day")
            print("\r\nSearching for \"xbox\" with the response filter set to \"News\" and freshness filter set to \"Day\".")
    
            '''
            If news articles are available, print the # of responses, and the first and second
            articles returned.
            '''
            if web_data.news.value:
    
                print("# of news results: {}".format(len(web_data.news.value)))
    
                first_web_page = web_data.news.value[0]
                print("First article name: {} ".format(first_web_page.name))
                print("First article URL: {} ".format(first_web_page.url))
    
                print("")
    
                second_web_page = web_data.news.value[1]
                print("\nSecond article name: {} ".format(second_web_page.name))
                print("Second article URL: {} ".format(second_web_page.url))
    
            else:
                print("Didn't find any news articles...")
    
        except Exception as err:
            print("Encountered exception. {}".format(err))
    
    # Call the function.
    web_search_with_response_filter(subscription_key)
    
  2. Run the program.

Use safe search, answer count, and the promote filter

This sample uses the answer_count, promote, and safe_search parameters to filter search results using the SDK's search method. The name and url for the first result are displayed.

  1. Add this code to your Python project:

    # Declare the function.
    def web_search_with_answer_count_promote_and_safe_search(subscription_key):
    
        client = WebSearchAPI(CognitiveServicesCredentials(subscription_key))
    
        try:
            '''
            Set the query, answer_count, promote, and safe_search parameters using the SDK's search method. See:
            https://learn.microsoft.com/python/api/azure-cognitiveservices-search-websearch/azure.cognitiveservices.search.websearch.operations.weboperations?view=azure-python.
            '''
            web_data = client.web.search(
                query="Niagara Falls",
                answer_count=2,
                promote=["videos"],
                safe_search=SafeSearch.strict  # or directly "Strict"
            )
            print("\r\nSearching for \"Niagara Falls\"")
    
            '''
            If results are available, print the # of responses, and the first result returned.
            '''
            if web_data.web_pages.value:
    
                print("Webpage Results#{}".format(len(web_data.web_pages.value)))
    
                first_web_page = web_data.web_pages.value[0]
                print("First web page name: {} ".format(first_web_page.name))
                print("First web page URL: {} ".format(first_web_page.url))
    
            else:
                print("Didn't see any Web data..")
    
        except Exception as err:
            print("Encountered exception. {}".format(err))
    
  2. Run the program.

Clean up resources

When you're done with this project, make sure to remove your subscription key from the program's code and to deactivate your virtual environment.

Next steps

See also