How can i extract information from Ethereum blockchain using python

Question

I am looking to do some analysis on the Ethereum blockchain, particularly, looking for correlations in the data between available hash power and transaction confirmation times.

 However, I am unable to make sense of how to go about downloading either of the blockchains or extract the transaction and worker information from them. Ideally, I would download the blockchains, then use a python script to extract the relevant information from the blockchain to a CSV file or something like that? Any pointers on how this can be achieved?

Answer 1

Give the RPC (--rpc) option when you start the process. Make sure you have the entire blockchain. 
The rpc starts a server process on localhost:8545. You can change the port as per your wish by --rpcport option.
Simply send HTTP Get requests (by CURL or some http module) to localhost:8545 and get the necessary info in JSON format. You can also use web3.js or web3.py APIs, which interface with the blockchain, basically execute on the console that is opened by the process. https://github.com/ethereum/wiki/wiki/JSON-RPC