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pandas

pandas is a Python package for working with tables of data, called DataFrames: loading them, filtering rows, picking columns and summarizing them.

By convention it's imported as pd:

python
import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_csv("life_expectancy.csv")

If you come from R, a pandas DataFrame plays the role of a data.frame or a tibble, and many dplyr verbs have a pandas twin. Stata users: it's your dataset in memory, and you can hold as many tables as you like, each under its own name. Altair takes a pandas DataFrame directly: alt.Chart(df).

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Related terms

  • Package

    A package is a bundle of code someone else wrote that you install to give Python new tools. pandas and Altair are packages.

  • CSV

    A CSV (comma-separated values) is a plain-text file that holds a table: one row per line, with commas between the columns.

  • Altair

    Altair (Vega-Altair) is a Python package for making charts by describing them: you say which column goes on each axis, color or size, and it writes the Vega-Lite that draws the chart.

All terms