Table of Contents
- Overview
- Prerequisites
- Setup
- Step 1: Importing Required Libraries
- Step 2: Testing Internet Speed
- Step 3: Displaying the Results
- Conclusion
Overview
In this tutorial, we will learn how to create a Python script that can test the internet speed and display the results. We will be using the speedtest-cli library, which is a command-line interface for testing internet bandwidth using speedtest.net infrastructure.
By the end of this tutorial, you will be able to:
- Import the required libraries
- Test your internet speed using Python
- Display the speed test results
Let’s get started!
Prerequisites
To follow this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of Python programming. It will be helpful if you are familiar with installing Python libraries using pip.
Setup
Before we begin, make sure you have speedtest-cli library installed. You can install it by running the following command in your terminal or command prompt:
python
pip install speedtest-cli
With the library installed, we can now start creating our Python script.
Step 1: Importing Required Libraries
First, let’s import the necessary libraries. In this script, we will only need the speedtest module from the speedtest-cli library. Add the following code to your Python script:
python
import speedtest
Step 2: Testing Internet Speed
Next, let’s define a function that will test the internet speed. We will create a function called test_speed that uses the speedtest.Speedtest class to perform the speed test. Add the following code to your Python script:
python
def test_speed():
st = speedtest.Speedtest()
st.get_best_server()
st.download()
st.upload()
return st.results
In the test_speed function, we create an instance of speedtest.Speedtest and call get_best_server to find the best server for testing. We then call download and upload to perform the speed test. Finally, we return the results.
Step 3: Displaying the Results
Finally, let’s create a function to display the speed test results. We will call the test_speed function and print the download and upload speeds. Add the following code to your Python script:
```python
def display_results(results):
download_speed = results.download / 10 ** 6 # Convert to Mbps
upload_speed = results.upload / 10 ** 6 # Convert to Mbps
print(f"Download Speed: {download_speed:.2f} Mbps")
print(f"Upload Speed: {upload_speed:.2f} Mbps")
``` In the `display_results` function, we calculate the download and upload speeds by dividing the values by 10^6 to convert them to Mbps. We then use f-string formatting to display the results with two decimal places.
Now, let’s run our script and test the internet speed:
python
results = test_speed()
display_results(results)
Save your script with a .py extension and run it using the Python interpreter. You will see the download and upload speeds printed in the terminal.
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we have learned how to create a Python script for internet speed testing. We used the speedtest-cli library to test the internet speed and displayed the results. You can now incorporate this script into your own projects or automate speed testing tasks.
Feel free to explore other features and capabilities of the speedtest-cli library to further enhance your internet speed testing applications.
Happy scripting!