Python Data Basics - For Loop Automation
In the 3rd free-to-use Python Data Basics program, we cover the Loops in Python. If you are new to coding loops can be a little intimidating but they are quite easy to use and more important they allow up to do more than a human would be able to by themselves. Loops in Python allow us to repeat a task as many times as needed or when a condition is True. This makes performing the same task 5 times or performing it 100 times irrelevant because in both cases we will only write the code to implement the task one time and put it into a Python Loop. Once we have working code inside of a loop it will run a set number of times. In Pandas, it is often the case that we will be iterating through each row in our DataFrame and making a change or iterating through each column in a DataFrame to perform and save an operation on each column, this is valuable in data analysis as we could inspect the distributions of each feature in only one block of Python code. It is import that we force ourselves to practice loops instead of copying and pasting our code and simple changing a variable like the column title. The problem is that we could want to eventually changes other parts as well and we will have to make that change several times over now and risk making a mistake. Loops in Python are great because we would only have our code in one place and there only have to change one spot in our coding. Simply writing Python code with Loops will save an enormous amount of time.
Python Why do we Iterate?
In this section of Python Data Basics free independent self-study education material we start by discussing tne importantance of iterable in computer programming and how useful it can be in data science. In Python we have access to the for loop and while loop. Both types of Python loops allow us to repeat a task many times but are used in slightly different ways. One of the many reason we iterate is to automate similar tasks that repeat over and over again. In data science loops help use avoid copy and pasting our coding and allow us to write it all in one place keep our Python coding neat and clean.
Python Types of Loops
In the easy-to-use educational material, we discuss Python and the types of loops available in Python. We have the option of using a for loop or a while loop. In most case, we could use either a for loop or a while loop. For loops iterate through a pre defined amount of items whereas a while loop will execute while a certain remains True. In Python Data Science a for loop fits more naturally and so although we could use a while loop we often choose a for loop at it will be slightly less coding to execute the loop.
When to use Python For and While Loop
In the educational independent learning data material in Python we discuss when to use the different types of loops. In Python, we have the choice between a For Loop and a While loop. In the end, both python loops can be made to do very similar things but will be easier to implement in one type, either the for or while loop. In Data Science we normally have a set amount of data at the start and so a for loop that traverses a set number of variables fits very nicely with data science projects and is less code that a while loop.
Python Loops with Conditional Statments
Free data science learning material to independently learn Python. Learning how to use For Loops in Python allows us to do more with and keep our Python coding clean. Using Python loops with conditional if statements allow us to do much more in one loop and perform operations only if certain conditions are met. This allows for many things in Python as a simple example is if we could make a change for only one category of many.
Explore For Loops with Free Python Code
In the last section of this free Python Data Basics class we go through the easy Python code in the colab. Here we learn how to use both For Loops in Python. As we learned we can use both in most cases but the Data Science For Loops tends to be a little easier to implement in Python code. Although we mainly use For loops in data science we also cover how a while loop in Python works. Going a step further we also highlight how to do a 1 line for loop called a list comprehension.