Data: tables and simple plots
Cover security and operational gates
Tables organize observations into rows and named columns, while summary statistics and plots expose scale, missing values, outliers, and relationships before modeling.
Before you start
Why this matters
Before running anything, predict one observable result from the case: a four-row study dataset must be inspected for typical hours, an extreme value, and the relationship between hours and passing. Write the prediction beside the command or code line that should cause it. This makes the session an experiment rather than a transcription exercise.
1Learn the idea
Read
Operate the chapter step
Operational quality includes safe inputs, predictable resources, and recoverable changes. Treat source data as immutable and write derived files elsewhere. Remove personal identifiers from screenshots, pin plotting dependencies when exact rendering matters, and record filters that exclude rows. Review what is written to disk or logs, which dependencies execute, and what another user can alter.
Read every command or statement before running it. The examples deliberately expose intermediate state so a surprising result has somewhere concrete to point.
Read
Run the working example
import pandas as pd
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
df = pd.read_csv("study.csv")
required = {"hours", "passed"}
if missing := required - set(df.columns):
raise ValueError(f"missing columns: {sorted(missing)}")
print(df["hours"].describe()[["count", "mean", "max"]])
df.plot.scatter(x="hours", y="passed", title="Study hours and outcome")
plt.savefig("study-results.png", dpi=150, bbox_inches="tight")
Expected evidence:
count 4.0
mean 4.5
max 8.0
Name: hours, dtype: float64
The output may include version-specific details such as hashes, paths, fitted thresholds, or final decimal places. Compare the structural facts described here rather than copying placeholders. If the structure differs, stop and inspect the earliest unexpected line.
Read
Read it line by line
read_csvcreates a DataFrame and infers column types from file values.- set subtraction catches misspelled or absent columns before plotting.
describecomputes several summaries and the bracket selection keeps the three used here.plot.scatternames both axes from columns;savefigcreates a reviewable artifact without relying on an interactive window.
These lines form one chain: a CSV table with one learner per row becomes validated column summaries plus a plot whose axes and file path are explicit. Change only one input first. When several values change together, you cannot tell which change caused the new behavior.
Read
Common errors and fixes
- First failure:
KeyError: 'hours'means the header differs, perhaps by capitalization or whitespace. Re-run the smallest command that proves the repair. - Second failure: a mean that becomes
NaNmay indicate an empty or nonnumeric column; inspectdf.info()and conversion failures. Preserve the failing input as a test when it represents a realistic mistake. - Misleading success: a blank saved image often occurs when
savefigruns after closing or clearing the figure. A clean-looking final line cannot cancel contradictory intermediate evidence.
When debugging, copy the exact error text and inspect names, paths, shapes, types, and versions. Explain the cause in one sentence before changing code. That discipline prevents a guessed repair from creating a second defect.
Read
Evidence for this stage
The input contract is a CSV table with one learner per row. The visible result is validated column summaries plus a plot whose axes and file path are explicit.
For the current operate step, save the smallest useful evidence: the relevant command, its output, and the input that produced it. Do not use a screenshot as the only record when text can be copied and searched. Keep generated artifacts separate from source inputs so rerunning the example does not destroy the evidence it is meant to evaluate.
Check row count, dtypes, missing-value counts, minimum, maximum, and duplicated rows. Compare the plotted points with at least two raw CSV records so swapped axes or the wrong column cannot pass unnoticed.
Read
Reflect on the result
Return to your opening prediction. Mark it correct or rewrite it with the condition you missed. Then explain the difference between a successful execution and a trustworthy result for this specific example.
Continue learning · glossary & guides
- Which line or command establishes the current step's most important fact?
- What output would reveal that
KeyError: 'hours'means the header differs, perhaps by capitalization or whitespace? - Can a new user reproduce a reproducible pandas summary and labeled matplotlib scatter plot saved as
study-results.pngfrom the stated setup?