Chapter DData: tables and simple plotsPage 2 of 8

Data: tables and simple plots

Set up interfaces and contracts

Tables organize observations into rows and named columns, while summary statistics and plots expose scale, missing values, outliers, and relationships before modeling.

~13 minSetup

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

Setup the chapter step

The required setup is: an activated environment contains pandas and matplotlib, and study.csv has hours and passed columns. Confirm it before copying code. The contract separates input from output: a CSV table with one learner per row goes in, and validated column summaries plus a plot whose axes and file path are explicit comes out. If either side is ambiguous, later debugging will chase the wrong layer.

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.

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

  1. read_csv creates a DataFrame and infers column types from file values.
  2. set subtraction catches misspelled or absent columns before plotting.
  3. describe computes several summaries and the bracket selection keeps the three used here.
  4. plot.scatter names both axes from columns; savefig creates 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 NaN may indicate an empty or nonnumeric column; inspect df.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 savefig runs 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

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.

For the current setup 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.

Read every command or statement before running it. The examples deliberately expose intermediate state so a surprising result has somewhere concrete to point.

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.

Checking tutor…

Continue learning · glossary & guides
  1. Which line or command establishes the current step's most important fact?
  2. What output would reveal that a mean that becomes NaN may indicate an empty or nonnumeric column?
  3. Can a new user reproduce a reproducible pandas summary and labeled matplotlib scatter plot saved as study-results.png from the stated setup?