How to send SOAP Requests in Python using Zeep

It was my first day at the client’s office and we were still unsure about how we were gonna collect data from the client’s archaic content management system. The system was super slow, almost unbearable to work with. Just to give you an insight, it takes around 0.5–1 minute to refresh a page, whereas we could only download 10–15 images at a time without crashing the system. On top of that, we needed thousands of images per category to create a representative data set for our Deep Learning model. So, you do the math.

How did I get here?

Well, I came up with the idea that we could get the data via requests, assuming that the system has a REST API that I could make use of. Up until that point, I haven’t heard of a thing called “SOAP” -shame on me- let alone knowing how to use it. At first glance, SOAP might seem like an alien tool from outer space to those who’ve been familiar with RESP APIs but it definitely isn’t.

I feel like almost all the SOAP APIs out there are either enterprise software that need strict security measures or retro tools that have value for only hipsters. This is just a feeling, don’t judge me.