Python, a multi-paradigm programming language, has become the language of choice for data scientists for data analysis, visualization, and machine learning.
You will start off by learning how to set up the right environment for data analysis with Python. Here, you'll learn to install the right Python distribution, as well as work with the Jupyter notebook and set up a database. After that, you will dive into Python's NumPy package—Python's powerful extension with advanced mathematical functions. You will learn to create NumPy arrays, as well as employ different array methods and functions. Then, you will explore Python's pandas extension, where you will learn to subset your data, as well as dive into data mapping using pandas. You'll also learn to manage your datasets by sorting and ranking them.
By the end of this book, you will learn to index and group your data for sophisticated data analysis and manipulation.
If you are a Python developer and want to take your first steps into the world of data analysis, then this is the book you have been waiting for!
Chapter 1, Setting Up a Python Data Analysis Environment, discusses installing Anaconda and managing it. Anaconda is a software package we will use in the following chapters of this book.
Chapter 2, Diving into NumPY, discusses NumPy data types controlled by dtype objects, which are the way NumPy stores and manages data.
Chapter 3, Operations on NumPy Arrays, will cover what every NumPy user should know about array slicing, arithmetic, linear algebra with arrays, and employing array methods and functions.
Chapter 4, pandas are Fun! What is pandas?, introduces pandas and looks at what it does. We explore pandas series, DataFrames, and creating them.
Chapter 5, Arithmetic, Function Application, and Mapping with pandas, revisits some topics discussed previously, regarding applying functions in arithmetic to a multivariate object and handling missing data in pandas.
Chapter 6, Managing, Indexing, and Plotting, looks at sorting and ranking. We'll see how to achieve this in pandas, looking at hierarchical indexing and plotting with pandas.
Python 3.4.x or newer. On Debian and derivatives (Ubuntu): python, python-dev, or python3-dev. On Windows: The official python installer at www.python.org is enough:
- NumPy
- pandas
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