sitesfrom

Sitesfrom is a term used in data processing and web analytics to denote a method, function, or field that identifies the source sites for a collection of pages, records, or documents. In practice, sitesfrom can appear as a pipeline operator, a dataset field, or a parameter in an API, returning the originating domains or hostnames from which content was collected. The term is informal and varies in usage, sometimes written as SitesFrom or sites_from depending on the tooling.

Overview: In web scraping and data cataloging, sitesfrom typically works by parsing each URL in a dataset to extract the host component and, if needed, normalizing it to a canonical domain. It may also support mapping to registered site profiles, handling redirects, subdomains, and internationalized domain names. Some implementations categorize sources at different levels, such as top-level domains or organizational domains.

Applications: Sitesfrom supports data provenance and attribution, filtering results by origin, and constructing provenance graphs for datasets. It helps researchers understand coverage, bias, or geographic distribution of collected content, and aids in compliance by exposing source origins.

Limitations: The approach depends on accurate URL data and may require handling of private or gated content, multi-origin pages, and content hosted behind CDNs. See also: URL parsing, domain, provenance, data lineage.