# Data In Python

## Data In Python

Python doesn't seem like an obvious choice for data analysis.

Fun to write, but not noted for being fast, and somehow bad at data…

## Built-In Data Structures

There is one obvious data structure for storing data: the Python list.

values = [10, 20, 30, 40]

This is represented (in CPython) as an array of pointers to Python objects.

## Built-In Data Structures

• Not memory efficient.
• Bad locality of reference (i.e. poor memory cache performance).
• Each value is a Python objects with extra memory overhead.

## Built-In Data Structures

So, Python is a bad language to represent collections of data?

No, only the built-in options. The solution is to not use Python lists for large array-like data.

## NumPy

The standard solution for array-like data in Python.

Gives a data types for fixed-type $$n$$-dimensional arrays. Represented as a C-style array internally.

Also includes many useful tools for working with those arrays efficiently.

## NumPy

Importing:

import numpy as np

By convention, import as np (not numpy) to save a few characters (since it's used a lot).

## NumPy

a = np.array([10, 20, 30, 40], dtype=np.int)

This allocates an array equivalent to the C:

int values[4] = {10, 20, 30, 40}

[Initializing from a Python list is usually a bad idea: requires memory allocation for both.]

## NumPy

NumPy arrays have a fixed type for all elements. Chosen from the NumPy types (or custom types). Some examples:

• np.byte
• np.int32
• np.int64
• np.uint64
• np.double
• np.complex
• np.str_
• np.object_

## NumPy

They also have a fixed shape with any number of dimensions:

print(a.shape)
twodim = np.array([[1,2,3],[4,5,6]], dtype=np.float)
print(twodim.ndim, twodim.dtype, twodim.shape)
threedim = np.array([[[1,2], [3,4]], [[5,6], [6,7]]])
print(threedim.ndim, threedim.dtype, threedim.shape)

Output:

(4,)
2 float64 (2, 3)
3 int64 (2, 2, 2)

## NumPy

Creating from Python lists is okay for toy examples, but you should usually construct more efficiently.

print( np.arange(6, 14) )
print( np.linspace(0, 5, 11, dtype=np.float32) )
print( np.empty((2, 3), dtype=np.int) ) # uninitialized!
print( np.zeros((2, 3)) )

[ 6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13]
[ 0.   0.5  1.   1.5  2.   2.5  3.   3.5  4.   4.5  5. ]
[[140506921020328 140506921020328 140506806120376]
[140506776227352 632708812243096               0]]
[[ 0.  0.  0.]
[ 0.  0.  0.]]

## NumPy

NumPy is happy with large arrays (up to your memory limits):

print( np.zeros((1000, 10000)) )
[[ 0.  0.  0. ...,  0.  0.  0.]
[ 0.  0.  0. ...,  0.  0.  0.]
[ 0.  0.  0. ...,  0.  0.  0.]
...,
[ 0.  0.  0. ...,  0.  0.  0.]
[ 0.  0.  0. ...,  0.  0.  0.]
[ 0.  0.  0. ...,  0.  0.  0.]]

## NumPy

There is a collection of array creation functions for convenience:

print( np.identity(4) )
print( np.random.rand(3,4) )
[[ 1.  0.  0.  0.]
[ 0.  1.  0.  0.]
[ 0.  0.  1.  0.]
[ 0.  0.  0.  1.]]
[[ 0.50385525  0.85417757  0.02541011  0.83578425]
[ 0.44444898  0.6818858   0.8581728   0.09154115]
[ 0.86676983  0.39580819  0.52601014  0.83193706]]

## NumPy

Result: memory efficiency like C. Programming with Python.

😄

## Operating on Arrays

NumPy includes many tricks to operate on arrays… mostly the whole array at once.

If you're writing a loop, you're probably doing it wrong.

Course rule: no loops. (Except where specified, or in the project if you really need them.)

## Operating on Arrays

some_ints = np.array([[1,2], [3,4]], dtype=np.int64)
ident = np.identity(2, dtype=np.int32)
print(some_ints + ident)
print(some_ints * ident) # element-wise multiplication
print(some_ints @ ident) # matrix multiplication, or np.dot()
print(some_ints * 3)     # multiplication by a scalar
[[2 2]
[3 5]]
[[1 0]
[0 4]]
[[1 2]
[3 4]]
[[ 3  6]
[ 9 12]]

## Operating on Arrays

NumPy has broadcasting rules that determine how operands are combined. Roughly:

• Identically-shaped arrays: element-wise.
• Array and scalar: scalar applied to each element.
• $$n$$-dim and vector: stretch the vector.
• Higher-dimensional analogue of that.

## Operating on Arrays

There are many methods in arrays and functions in NumPy that operate on arrays as a unit.

print(some_ints)
print(some_ints.sum())
print(some_ints.sum(axis=0))
print(some_ints.sum(axis=1))
print(np.sum(some_ints, axis=1))
[[1 2]
[3 4]]
10
[4 6]
[3 7]
[3 7]

## Operating on Arrays

The np.vectorize function turns an existing function into a ufunc that can operate on an entire array by implicitly iterating the function.

def double_plus_single(x):
return 2*x + 1

double_plus = np.vectorize(double_plus_single,
otypes=[np.float])
res = double_plus(some_ints)
print(res)
print(res.dtype)
[[3. 5.]
[7. 9.]]
float64

## Operating on Arrays

A ufunc that returns tuples of values creates multiple arrays, not an array containing tuples.

def smaller_bigger_single(x):
return (x-1, x+1)

smaller_bigger = np.vectorize(smaller_bigger_single,
otypes=[np.int, np.int])

sm, bg = smaller_bigger(some_ints)
print(sm)
print(bg)
[[0 1]
[2 3]]
[[2 3]
[4 5]]

## Operating on Arrays

Using np.vectorize is flexible but not always fast, because it requires calling the Python function many times (which comes with some overhead).

e.g. first calculation of res here takes about 6 times longer than the second (with identical results).

def double_plus_single(x):
return 2*x + 1
double_plus = np.vectorize(double_plus_single,
otypes=[np.float])

res = double_plus(some_ints)
res = 2 * some_ints + 1

## Operating on Arrays

Indexing into a many-dimensional array can be intricate.

Let's experiment with indexing with NumPy (and Jupyter).

… and then with ways to iterate over arrays and how fast they are.

## Operating on Arrays

Warning: combinations of array dimensions as tuples, and array methods vs functions can be inconsistent.

a1a = np.zeros((3, 4))
# a1b = np.zeros(2, 3) # error: must be a tuple

a2a = a1a.reshape((6, 2))
a2b = a1a.reshape(6, 2)
a2c = np.reshape(a1a, (6, 2))
# a2d = np.reshape(a1a, 6, 2) # error: 2 is some other parameter

a3a = np.random.rand(2, 3)
#a3b = np.random.rand((2, 3)) # error: can't be a tuple
a3c = np.random.random((2, 3))
# a3d = np.random.random(2, 3) # error: must be a tuple

## Operating on Arrays

Summary:

• NumPy is very good at storing arrays: single-type, many-dimensional, etc.
• Operating on arrays is best done with single NumPy functions/​methods, which are fast.

## Pandas

NumPy is very good at what it does: arrays.

Single-type arrays and operations on them aren't all there is to data storage and manipulation.

## Pandas

Pandas is a Python library that gives richer tools for manipulating data.

• A Series is a 1D array, internally stored as a NumPy array.
• A DataFrame is a collection of columns (Series); the Series data forms rows.
• Entries in Series and DataFrames are labeled.

## Pandas

In some ways, a DataFrame is a lot like a SQL database table:

• DF Series ≈ SQL columns. Each column has a fixed type.
• DF row ≈ SQL row. One entry from each column.
• DF label ≈ SQL primary key.

… but the way you work with the data is usually quite different.

## Working With Pandas

The Pandas module is usually imported as a short-form, like NumPy:

import numpy as np
import pandas as pd

## Working With Pandas

DataFrames can be created many ways, including a Python dict:

df = pd.DataFrame(
{
'value': [1, 2, 3, 4],
'word': ['one', 'two', 'three', 'four']
}
)
print(df)
​   value   word
0      1    one
1      2    two
2      3  three
3      4   four

## Working With Pandas

In a notebook, DataFrames are even nicer looking:

## Working With Pandas

A label was added to the rows: an integer incrementing from zero.

Usually that's fine: indexing individual elements is rare anyway. We usually work on entire DataFrames/​Series at once.

## Working With Pandas

You can read/​write entire series with a single operation:

df['double'] = df['value'] * 2
print(df)
print(df[df['value'] % 2 == 0])
​   value   word  double
0      1    one       2
1      2    two       4
2      3  three       6
3      4   four       8
value  word  double
1      2   two       4
3      4  four       8

Note: the labels aren't an index: they are really labels that stay with the rows as they are manipulated.

## Working With Pandas

Rows are identified by their label, not their order: that's usually very convenient.

french_words = pd.Series(
['trois', 'deux', 'un'],
index=[2, 1, 0]
)
df['french'] = french_words
print(df)
​   value   word  double french
0      1    one       2     un
1      2    two       4   deux
2      3  three       6  trois
3      4   four       8    NaN

Also note: missing values are okay. Represented as not a number.

## Working With Pandas

Like with NumPy arrays, you almost always want to work with DataFrames as a unit, not row-by-row. Another example:

cities = pd.DataFrame(
[[2463431, 2878.52], [1392609, 5110.21], [5928040, 5905.71]],
columns=['population', 'area'],
index=pd.Index(['Vancouver','Calgary','Toronto'], name='city')
)
print(cities)
​           population     area
city
Vancouver     2463431  2878.52
Calgary       1392609  5110.21
Toronto       5928040  5905.71

## Working With Pandas

You can apply Python operators, or methods on a Series, or a NumPy ufunc, or ….

def double_plus(x):
return 2*x + 1
double_plus = np.vectorize(double_plus, otypes=[np.float])

cities['density'] = cities['population'] / cities['area']
cities['pop-rank'] = cities['population'].rank(ascending=False)
cities['something'] = double_plus(cities['population'])
print(cities)
​           population     area      density  pop-rank   something
city
Vancouver     2463431  2878.52   855.797771       2.0   4926863.0
Calgary       1392609  5110.21   272.515024       3.0   2785219.0
Toronto       5928040  5905.71  1003.781086       1.0  11856081.0

## Working With Pandas

It's occasionally useful to change the index to a data column, or a data column to the index.

del cities['something']
cities = cities.reset_index()
cities = cities.set_index('pop-rank')
print(cities)
​               city  population     area      density
pop-rank
2.0       Vancouver     2463431  2878.52   855.797771
3.0         Calgary     1392609  5110.21   272.515024
1.0         Toronto     5928040  5905.71  1003.781086