python - How to get follower count using tweepy -

i'm trying follower count of companies , track on time. have on 200 000 companies code have literally take years run current api limit.

c = tweepy.cursor(api.followers_ids, id = a) ids = [] id in c.items():    time.sleep(0.01)    ids.append(id) ' 

in code 1 api hit every follower. wondering if there function gives follower count number? twitter api limit?

each api requests returns @ 5000 followers ids @ time, retrieve followers of 200 000 companies, here useful script book mining social web matthew a. russell solve twitter api limit

to make robust twitter request , access twitter's api matthew defined these methods :

import sys import time urllib2 import urlerror httplib import badstatusline import json import twitter  def oauth_login():     consumer_key = ''     consumer_secret = ''     oauth_token = ''     oauth_token_secret = ''     auth = twitter.oauth.oauth(oauth_token, oauth_token_secret,                                consumer_key, consumer_secret)     twitter_api = twitter.twitter(auth=auth)     return twitter_api  def make_twitter_request(twitter_api_func, max_errors=10, *args, **kw): # nested helper function handles common httperrors. return updated # value wait_period if problem 500 level error. block until # rate limit reset if it's rate limiting issue (429 error). returns none # 401 , 404 errors, requires special handling caller.     def handle_twitter_http_error(e, wait_period=2, sleep_when_rate_limited=true):         if wait_period > 3600: # seconds             print >> sys.stderr, 'too many retries. quitting.'             raise e # see https://dev.twitter.com/docs/error-codes-responses common codes         if e.e.code == 401:              print >> sys.stderr, 'encountered 401 error (not authorized)'             return none         elif e.e.code == 404:             print >> sys.stderr, 'encountered 404 error (not found)'             return none         elif e.e.code == 429:             print >> sys.stderr, 'encountered 429 error (rate limit exceeded)'             if sleep_when_rate_limited:                 print >> sys.stderr, "retrying in 15 minutes...zzz..."                 sys.stderr.flush()                 time.sleep(60*15 + 5)                 print >> sys.stderr, '...zzz...awake , trying again.'                 return 2             else:                 raise e # caller must handle rate limiting issue         elif e.e.code in (500, 502, 503, 504):             print >> sys.stderr, 'encountered %ierror. retrying in %iseconds' %\             (e.e.code, wait_period)             time.sleep(wait_period)             wait_period *= 1.5             return wait_period         else:             raise e # end of nested helper function     wait_period = 2     error_count = 0     while true:         try:             return twitter_api_func(*args, **kw)         except twitter.api.twitterhttperror, e:             error_count = 0             wait_period = handle_twitter_http_error(e, wait_period)             if wait_period none:                 return         except urlerror, e:             error_count += 1             print >> sys.stderr, "urlerror encountered. continuing."             if error_count > max_errors:                 print >> sys.stderr, "too many consecutive errors...bailing out."                 raise         except badstatusline, e:             error_count += 1             print >> sys.stderr, "badstatusline encountered. continuing."             if error_count > max_errors:                 print >> sys.stderr, "too many consecutive errors...bailing out."                 raise 

here methods retrieve friends , followers :

from functools import partial sys import maxint  def get_friends_followers_ids(twitter_api, screen_name=none, user_id=none, friends_limit=maxint, followers_limit=maxint):     # must have either screen_name or user_id (logical xor)     assert (screen_name != none) != (user_id != none),\     "must have screen_name or user_id, not both"     # see https://dev.twitter.com/docs/api/1.1/get/friends/ids ,     # https://dev.twitter.com/docs/api/1.1/get/followers/ids details     # on api parameters     get_friends_ids = partial(make_twitter_request, twitter_api.friends.ids,                              count=5000)     get_followers_ids = partial(make_twitter_request,twitter_api.followers.ids,                                count=5000)     friends_ids, followers_ids = [], []     twitter_api_func, limit, ids, label in [                     [get_friends_ids, friends_limit, friends_ids, "friends"],                     [get_followers_ids, followers_limit, followers_ids, "followers"]                 ]:         if limit == 0: continue         cursor = -1         while cursor != 0:              # use make_twitter_request via partially bound callable...             if screen_name:                 response = twitter_api_func(screen_name=screen_name, cursor=cursor)             else: # user_id                 response = twitter_api_func(user_id=user_id, cursor=cursor)             if response not none:                 ids += response['ids']                 cursor = response['next_cursor']             print >> sys.stderr, 'fetched {0} total {1} ids for{2}'.format(len(ids),                                                     label, (user_id or screen_name))             # xxx: may want store data during each iteration provide               # additional layer of protection exceptional circumstances             if len(ids) >= limit or response none:                 break     # useful ids, store them disk...     return friends_ids[:friends_limit], followers_ids[:followers_limit]  # sample usage twitter_api = oauth_login() friends_ids, followers_ids =get_friends_followers_ids(twitter_api,                                                       screen_name="socialwebmining",                                                       friends_limit=10,                                                       followers_limit=10) print friends_ids print followers_ids