Book Image

Python Machine Learning By Example - Second Edition

By : Yuxi (Hayden) Liu
Book Image

Python Machine Learning By Example - Second Edition

By: Yuxi (Hayden) Liu

Overview of this book

The surge in interest in machine learning (ML) is due to the fact that it revolutionizes automation by learning patterns in data and using them to make predictions and decisions. If you’re interested in ML, this book will serve as your entry point to ML. Python Machine Learning By Example begins with an introduction to important ML concepts and implementations using Python libraries. Each chapter of the book walks you through an industry adopted application. You’ll implement ML techniques in areas such as exploratory data analysis, feature engineering, and natural language processing (NLP) in a clear and easy-to-follow way. With the help of this extended and updated edition, you’ll understand how to tackle data-driven problems and implement your solutions with the powerful yet simple Python language and popular Python packages and tools such as TensorFlow, scikit-learn, gensim, and Keras. To aid your understanding of popular ML algorithms, the book covers interesting and easy-to-follow examples such as news topic modeling and classification, spam email detection, stock price forecasting, and more. By the end of the book, you’ll have put together a broad picture of the ML ecosystem and will be well-versed with the best practices of applying ML techniques to make the most out of new opportunities.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)
Free Chapter
1
Section 1: Fundamentals of Machine Learning
3
Section 2: Practical Python Machine Learning By Example
12
Section 3: Python Machine Learning Best Practices

Defining machine learning and why we need it

Machine learning is a term coined around 1960, composed of two words—machine corresponds to a computer, robot, or other device, and learning refers to an activity intended to acquire or discover event patterns, which we humans are good at.

So, why do we need machine learning and why do we want a machine to learn as a human? First and foremost, of course, computers and robots can work 24/7 and don't get tired, need breaks, call in sick, or go on strike. Their maintenance is much lower than a human's and costs a lot less in the long run. Also, for sophisticated problems that involve a variety of huge datasets or complex calculations, for instance, it's much more justifiable, not to mention intelligent, to let computers do all of the work. Machines driven by algorithms designed by humans are able to learn latent rules...