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Why Pursuing a Certification Course in Machine Learning Makes Sense Than Doing Self-Study?

Why Pursuing a Certification Course in Machine Learning Makes Sense Than Doing Self-Study

If you are aware of the growth opportunities awaiting you in the Machine Learning domain, you must be in a rush to master the Machine Learning skills. Now, there are courses available that aim to sharpen the students with skills they would need to work in a challenging environment. However, some often prefer the self-study mode for developing knowledge in this highly specialized domain. No matter which way you prefer to learn, ultimately your passion and dedication would matter the most, because in both ways you need to put in the hard work and really toil hard to make any progress.

Is self-study a feasible option?

If you have already been through some course and want to go to the advanced level through self-study that’s a different issue, but, for those who are just starting out without any background in science, does it even make any sense to opt for self-study?

Given the way Machine Learning technology is moving fast and creating a demand for professionals with highly specialized industry knowledge, do you think self-study would be enough? Do you think a self-study plan to learn something you have no idea about would work? How much time would you need to devote? What should be your learning route? And how do you know this is the right path to follow?

Before we dive deeper into the discussion, we need to go through some prerequisites for Machine Learning study plan.

Machine learning is a broad field and assuming you are a beginner with no prior knowledge in this domain, you have to be familiar with mathematics, statistics, programming  languages, meaning undergoing a Python certification training</strong>, must be proficient in data handling including analysis and modeling, you have to work on algorithms. So, can you pick up all of these skills one by one via self-study? Add to the list the latest Machine Learning tools and applications you need to grasp.

There will be help available in the form of:

  • There would be vast resources, in forms of e-books, lectures, video tutorials, most of these are free and easily accessible.
  • There are forums, groups out there which you can join and access help
  • You can take part in online competitions

Think it through. How long will it take for you to get from one stage to the next?

 Even though there being no dearth of resources available you would be struggling with your progress and most importantly you would struggle to keep up with the pace the technology is moving ahead. Picking up a programming language, grasping and mastering concepts of linear algebra, probability, data is going to be a mammoth task.

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What difference a certification course can make?

  • To begin with these courses are designed for people coming from different backgrounds, so, you having or, not having any prior knowledge in mathematics, statistics wouldn’t matter as you would be taught everything from scratch be it math or, Machine Learning Using Python.
  • The programs are designed for both working professionals as well as for beginners, all you need to do is choose the one that suits your specific level.
  • These courses are designed to transform you into an industry-ready professional and you would be under the guidance of professionals who are more than familiar with the nuances of the way the industry functions.
  • The modules would follow a strict schedule and your training path would be well planned out covering all the areas you need to master.
  • You would learn via hands-on training and get to handle projects. Nothing makes you skilled like hands-on training.

Your journey towards a smarter future needs to be through a well mapped-out path, so, be smart about it. DexLab Analytics offers industry-ready courses on Data Science, Machine Learning course in Gurgaon and AI with Python. Take advantage of the courses that are taught by instructors who have both expertise and experience. Time is indeed money, so, stop wasting time and get down to learning.


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Introducing Automation: Learn to Automate Data Preparation with Python Libraries

Introducing automation

In this blog we are discussing automation, a function for automating data preparation using a mix of Python libraries. So let’s start.

Problem statement

A data containing the following observation is given to you in which the first row contains column headers and all the other rows contains the data. Some of the rows are faulty, a row is faulty if it contains at least one cell with a NULL value. You are supposed to delete all the faulty rows containing NULL value written in it.

In the table given below, the second row is faulty, it contains a NULL value in salary column. The first row is never faulty as it contains the column headers. In the data provided to you every cell in a column may contain a single word and each word may contain digits between 0 & 9 or lowercase and upper case English letters. For example:

In the above example after removing the faulty row the table looks like this:

The order of rows cannot be changed but the number of rows and columns may differ in different test case.

The data after preparation must be saved in a CSV format. Every two successive cells in each row are separated by a single comma ‘,’symbol and every two successive rows are separated by a new-line ‘\n’ symbol. For example, the first table from the task statement to be saved in a CSV format is a single string ‘S. No., Name, Salary\n1,Niharika,50000\n2,Vivek,NULL\n3,Niraj,55000’ . The only assumption in this task is that each row may contain same number of cells.

Write a python function that converts the above string into the given format.

Write a function:

def Solution(s)

Given a string S of length N, returns the table without the Faulty rows in a CSV format.

Given S=‘S. No., Name, Salary\n1,Niharika,50000\n2,Vivek,NULL\n3,Niraj,55000’

The table with data from string S looks as follows:

After removing the rows containing the NULL values the table should look like this:

You can try a number of strings to cross-validate the function you have created.

Let’s begin.

  • First we will store the string in a variable s
  • Now we will start by declaring the function name and importing all the necessary libraries.
  • Creating a pattern to separate the string from ‘\n’ .
  • Creating a loop to create multiple lists within a list.

In the above code the list is converted to an array and then used to create a dataframe and stored as csv file in the default working directory.

  • Now we need to split the string to create multiple columns.

The above code creates a dataframe with multiple columns.

Now after dropping the rows with NaN values data looks like

To reset the index we can now use .reset_index() method.

  • Now the problem with the above dataframe created is that the NULL values are in string format, so first we need to convert them into NaN values and then only we will be able to drop them. For that we will be using the following code.

Now we will be able to drop the NaN values easily by using .dropna() method.

In the above code we first dropped the NaN values  then we used the first row of the data set to create column names and then dropped the original row. We also made the first column as index.


Hence we have managed to create a function that can give us the above data. Once created this function can be used to convert a string into dataframe with similar pattern.

Hopefully, you found the discussion informative enough. For further clarification watch the video attached below the blog. To access more informative blogs on Data science using python training related topics, keep on following the Dexlab Analytics blog.

Here’s a video introduction to Automation. You can check it down below to develop a considerable understanding of the same:


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A Definitive Guide to Machine Learning

A Definitive Guide to Machine Learning

In a world that is riveting towards exploring the hidden potential of emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, staying aware can not only keep you in sync but can also ensure your growth. Among all the tech terms doing the rounds now, machine learning is probably the one that you have heard frequently or, it might also be the term that intrigues you the most. You might even have a friend who is pursuing a Machine Learning course in Gurgaon. So, amidst all of this hoopla why don’t you upgrade your knowledge regarding machine learning? It’s not rocket science but, it’s science and it’s really cool!

Machine learning is a subset of AI that revolves round the concept of enabling a system to learn from the data automatically while finding patterns and improve the ability to predict without being explicitly programmed beforehand. One of the examples would be when you shop online from a particular site, you would notice product recommendations are lining up the page that particularly align with your preferences.  The data footprint you leave behind is being picked up and analyzed to find a pattern and machine learning algorithms work to make predictions based on that, it is a continuous process of learning that simulate human learning process.

The same experience you would go through while watching YouTube, as it would present more videos based on your recent viewing  pattern. Being such a powerful technology machine learning is gradually being implemented across different sectors and thereby pushing the demand for skilled personnel.  Pursuing machine learning certification courses in gurgaon from a reputed institute, will enable an individual to pick up the nuances of machine learning to land the perfect career.

What are the different types of machine learning?

When we say machines learn, it might sound like a simple concept, but, the more you delve deeper into the topic to dissect the way it works you would know that there are more to it than meets the eyes. Machine learning could be divided into categories based on the learning aspect, here we will be focusing on 3 major categories which are namely:

  • Supervised Learning
  • Unsupervised Learning
  • Reinforcement Learning

Supervised Learning

Supervised learning as the name suggests involves providing the machine learning algorithm with training dataset, an example of sort to enable the system to learn to work its ways through to form the connection between input and output, the problem and the solution. The data provided for the training purposes needs to be correctly labeled so, that the algorithm is able to identify the relationship and could learn to predict output based on the input and upon finding errors could make necessary modifications. Post training when given a new dataset it should be able to analyze the input to predict a likely output for the new dataset.  This basic form of machine learning is used for facial recognition, for classifying spams.

Unsupervised Learning

Again the term is suggestive like the prior category we discussed above, this is also the exact opposite of supervised learning as here there is no training data available to rely on. The input is available minus the output hence the algorithm does not have a reference to learn from. Basically the algorithm has to work its way through a big mass of unclassified data and start finding patterns on its own, due to the nature of its learning which involves parsing through unclassified data the process gets complicated yet holds potential. It basically involves clustering and association to work its way through data.

Reinforcement Learning

Reinforcement learning could be said to have similarity with the way humans learn through trial and error method. It does not have any guidance whatsoever and involves a reward, in a given situation the algorithm needs to work its way through to find the right solution to get to the reward, and it gets there by overcoming obstacles and learning from the errors along the way. The algorithm needs to analyze and find the best solution to maximize its rewards and minimize penalties as the process involves both. Video games could be an example of reinforcement learning.

Although only 3 core categories have been mentioned here, there remains other categories which deserve as much attention, such as deep learning. Deep learning too is a comparatively new field that deserves a complete discussion solely devoted to understanding this dynamic technology, focusing on its various aspects including how to be adept at deep learning for computer vision with python.

Machine learning is a highly potent technology that has the power to predict the future course of action, industries are waking up to smell the benefits that could be derived from implementation of ML. So, let’s quickly find out what some of the applications are:

Malware and spam filtering

You do not have to be tech savvy to understand what email spams are or, what malware is. Application of machine learning is refining the way emails are filtered with spams being detected and sent to a separate section, the same goes for malware detection as ML powered systems are quick to detect new malware from previous patterns.

Virtual personal assistants

As Alexa and Siri have become a part of life, we are now used to having access to our very own virtual personal assistants. However, when we ask a question or, give a command, ML starts working its magic as it gathers the data and processes it to offer a more personalized service by predicting the pattern of commands and queries.

Refined search results

When you put in a search query in Google or, any of the search engines the algorithms follow and learn from the pattern of the way you conduct a search and respond to the search results being displayed. Based on the patterns it refines the search results that impact page ranking.

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Social media feeds

Whether it is Facebook or, Pinterest , the presence of machine learning could be felt across all platforms. Your friends, your interactions, your actions all of these are monitored and analyzed by machine learning algorithms to detect a pattern and prepare friend suggestions list. Automatic Friend Tagging Suggestions is another example of ML application.

Those were a couple of examples of machine learning application, but this dynamic field stretches far. The field is evolving and in the process creating new career opportunities. However, to land a job in this field one needs to have a background in Machine Learning Using Python, to become an expert and land the right job.


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An Introductory Guide To Gaussian Distribution/Normal Distribution

An Introductory Guide To Gaussian Distribution/Normal Distribution

In this blog we will be introducing you to the Gaussian Distribution/Normal Distribution. Knowledge of the distribution of your data is quite important as it tells you the trend your data follows and a continuous observation of the trend helps you predict the future observations more accurately.

One of the most important distribution in statistics is Gaussian Distribution also known as Normal Distribution follows, that the mean, median and mode of the data are equal or almost equal. The idea behind this is that the data you collect should not have a very high standard deviation.

How to generate a normally distributed data in Python

  • First we will import all the necessary libraries

  • Now we will use .normal() method from Numpy library to generate the data where 50 is the mean, .1 is the deviation and 500 is the number of observations to be generated.

  • To plot the data and have a look at the data distribution we will be using .distplot() method from the Seaborn library and to make our plot visually better we will be using .set_style() method to change the background of our graph.

In the above line of codes we are also using Matplotlib library to add axis labels and title to the graph. We are also adding an argument fontsize to adjust the size of the font.

The above graph is a bell shaped curve with the peak of the curve in the center of the graph. This is one of the most important assumption of the Gaussian distribution on that the curve is symmetric at the center, some of the other assumptions are:-

Assumptions of the Gaussian distribution:

  • The mean, median and mode are equal.
  • Exactly half of the values are to the left of the center and exactly half of the values are to the right.
  • The total area under the curve is 1.
  • It has a continuous probability distribution.
  • 68% of the data is -1 to 1 standard deviation away from the mean.
  • 95% of the data is -2 to 2 standard deviation away from the mean.
  • 99.7% of the data is -3 to 3 standard deviation away from the mean.

The last three assumptions can be proven with the help of standard normal distribution.

What is standard normal distribution?

Standard normal distribution also known as Z-score is a special case of normal distribution where we convert the normally distributed data into data deviations. The mean of such a distribution is 0 and the standard deviation is 1.

    

Let’s see how we can achieve the standard normal distribution in Python.

We will be using the same normally distributed data as above.

  • First we will be calculating the mean and standard deviation of the data we created with the help of the above code by using .mean() and .std() method.

  • Now to calculate the Z-score we will first make an empty list and then append the calculated values one by one in that list with the help of a for-loop.

 

As you can see in the above code we are first subtracting the value from the mean and then dividing it by the standard  deviation.

Now let’s see how the calculated data visually looks like.


When we look at the above graph we can clearly see that the data is by max 3 standard deviations away from the mean.

For further explanation check out the video attached down the blog.

So, with this we come to the end of today’s discussion on Gaussian distribution, hopefully, you found this explanation helpful. For such informative posts keep an eye on the Dexlab Analytics blog. Dexlab Analytics is a premier institute that offers cutting edge courses such as credit risk analysis course in Delhi.


 Niharika Rai

 Analytics Consultant, DexLab Analytics



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Engineering To Data Science: What’s Causing The Professionals To Consider A Mid-Career Switch?

Engineering To Data Science: What's Causing The Professionals To Consider A Mid-Career Switch?

Among all the decisions we make in our lives, choosing the right career path seems to be the most crucial one. Except for a couple of clueless souls, most students know by the time they clear their boards what they aspire to be. A big chunk of them veer towards engineering, MBA, even pursue masters degree in academics and post completion of their studies they settle for relevant jobs. So far that used to be the happily ever after career story, but, in the last couple of years there seems to be a big paradigm shift and it is causing a stir across industries. Professionals having an engineering background, or, masters degree are opting for a mid-career switch and a majority of them are opting for the data science domain by pursuing a Data Science course. So, what’s pushing them towards DS? Let’s investigate.

What’s causing the career switch?

No matter which field someone has chosen for career, achieving stability is a common goal. However, in many fields be it engineering, or, something else the job opportunities are not unlimited yet the number of job seekers is growing every year. So, thereby one can expect to face a stiff competition grabbing a well-paid job.

There have been many layoffs in recent times especially due to the unprecedented situation the world is going through. Even before that there were reports of job cuts and certain sectors not doing well would directly impact the career of thousands. Even if we do not concentrate on the extremes, the growth prospect in most places could be limited and achieving the desired salary or, promotion oftentimes becomes impossible. This leads to not only frustration but uncertainty as well.

The demand for big data

If you haven’t been living as a hermit, then you are aware of the data explosion that impacted nearly every industry. The moment everyone understood the power of big data they started investing in research and in building a system that can handle, store and process data which is a storehouse of information. Now, who is going to process data to extract the information? And here comes the new breed of data experts, namely the data scientists, who have mastered the technology having undergone Data Science training and are able to develop models and parse through data to deliver the insights companies are looking for to make informed decisions. The data trend is pushing the boundaries and as cutting edge technologies like AI, machine learning are percolating every aspect of the industries, the demand for avant-garde courses like natural language processing course in gurgaon, is skyrocketing.

Lack of trained industry ready data science professionals

Although big data has started trending as businesses started gathering data from multiple sources, there are not many professionals available to handle the data. The trend is only gaining momentum and if you just check the top job portals such as Glassdoor, Indeed and go through the ads seeking data scientists you would immediately know how far the field has traveled. With more and more industries turning to big data, the demand for qualified data scientists is shooting up.

Why data science is being chosen as the best option?

In the 21st century data science is a field which has plethora of opportunities for the right people and this is one field which is not only growing now but is also poised to grow in future as well. The data scientist is one of the most highest paid professional in today’s job market. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report by the year 2026 there is a possibility of creation of 11.5 million jobs in this field.

Now take a look at the Indian context, from agriculture to aviation the demand for data scientists would continue to grow as there is a severe shortage of professionals. As per a report the salary of a data scientist could hover around ₹1,052K per annum and remember the field is growing which means there is not going to be a dearth of job opportunities or, lucrative pay packages.

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The shift

Considering all of these factors there has been a conscious shift in the mindset of the professionals, who are indeed making a beeline for institutes that offer data science certification. By doing so they hope to-

  • Access promising career opportunities
  • Achieve job satisfaction and financial stability
  • Earn more while enjoying job security
  • Work across industries and also be recruited by industry biggies
  • Gain valuable experience to be in demand for the rest of their career
  • Be a part of a domain that promises innovation and evolution instead of stagnation

Keeping in mind the growing demand for professionals and the dearth of trained personnel, premier institutes like DexLab Analytics have designed courses that are aimed to build industry-ready professionals. The best thing about such courses is that you can hail from any academic background, here you will be taught from scratch so that you can grasp the fundamentals before moving on to sophisticated modules.

Along with providing data science certification training, they also offer cutting edge courses  such as, artificial intelligence certification in delhi ncr, Machine Learning training gurgaon. Such courses enable the professionals enhance their skillset to make their mark in a world which is being dominated by big data and AI.  The faculty consists of skilled professionals who are armed with industry knowledge and hence are in a better position to shape students as per industry demands and standards.

The mid-career switch is happening and will continue to happen. There must be professionals who have the expertise to drive an organization towards the future by unlocking their data secrets. However, something must be kept in mind if you are considering a switch, you need to be ready to meet challenges,  along with knowledge of Python for data science training, you need to have a vision, a hunger and a love for data to be a successful data scientist.


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Object Detection And Its Applications

Object Detection And Its Applications

When we take a look at a video or, a bunch of images we know what’s what just by taking one look, it is our innate ability that gradually developed. Well, sophisticated technologies such as object detection can do that too. It might sound futuristic but it is happening now in reality. Object detection is a technique of the AI subset computer vision that is concerned with identifying objects and defining those by placing into distinct categories such as humans, cars, animals etc.

It combines machine learning and deep learning to enable machines to identify different objects. However, image recognition and object detection these terms are often used interchangeably but, both techniques are different. Object detection could detect multiple objects in an image or, in a video. The demand for trained experts in this field is pretty high and having a background in deep learning for computer vision with python can help one build a dream career.

Object detection has found applications across industries. Let’s take a look at some of these applications.

Tracking objects

It is needless to point out that in the field of security and surveillance object detection would play an even more important role. With object tracking it would be easier to track a person in a video. Object tracking could also be used in tracking the motion of a ball during a match. In the field of traffic monitoring too object tracking plays a crucial role.

Counting the crowd

Crowd counting or people counting is another significant application of object detection. During a big festival, or, in a crowded mall this application comes in handy as it helps in dissecting the crowd and measure different groups.

Self-driving cars

Another unique application of object detection technique is definitely self-driving cars.  A self-driving car can only navigate through a street safely if it could detect all the objects such as people, other cars, road signs on the road, in order to decide what action to take.

Detecting a vehicle

In a road full of speeding vehicles object detection can help in a big way by tracking a particular vehicle and even its number plate. So, if a car gets into an accident or, breaks traffic rules then it is easier to detect that particular car using object detection model and thereby decreasing the rate of crime while enhancing security.

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Detecting anomaly

Another useful application of object detection is definitely spotting an anomaly and it has industry specific usages.  For instance, in the field of agriculture object detection helps in identifying infected crops and thereby helps the farmers take measures accordingly.  It could also help identify skin problems in healthcare.  In the manufacturing industry the object detection technique can help in detecting problematic parts really fast and thereby allow the company to take the right step.

Object detection technology has the potential to transform our world in multiple ways. However, the models still need to be developed further so that these can be applied across devices and platforms in real-time to offer cutting-edge solutions. Pursuing a Python Certification course can help develop the required skills needed for making a career in the field of machine learning.


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Regular Expression in Python Part III: Learn To Substitute With Re

Regular Expression in Python Part III: Learn To Substitute With Re

This is the 3rd part of the ongoing Regex or, regular expression in Python series where we are discussing how to handle textual data. In the second part we introduced you to the re library and in this third segment, we are going to be discussing how to substitute characters or, words with re library.

Re library has a wide range of methods to deal with textual data, one such method is .sub() which helps us substitute alphabets or words based on the patterns we build. This method can be used with .match() method and .search() method, both having differences in the way they extract a pattern.

Difference between .match() & .search()

.match() :- This method extracts the required text only at the begging.

.search() :-This can extract the required string from the entire text but only at the first occurrence

In the above code you can see that even though the word “Hello” is in the middle of the text we are able to fetch it because of the special attribute of the .search() method. Here we are again using “Hello dexlab…!” as an example and .compile() is being used to create and apply our pattern.

Now suppose if we want to substitute the word “Hello” with another string “Hi” we will have to use .sub() method from the re library. But there are ways to use this method directly or indirectly.

 First let’s see the direct method.

In the above line of code we first mention what we want to substitute and with what and then we add the text.

Second way to do this is by first using .compile() method to build the pattern and then use that pattern to substitute the alphabet or word.

The above pattern in the .complie() method states that there is a word with the first alphabet in uppercase combined with lowercase alphabets to be substituted with the word “Hi”. This pattern can match any string with the same characteristics, for example:-

Look at the text used in the .sub() method, now instead of “Hello” we have “Pello” with the same characteristics substituted with the word “Hi”. But one must not forget this pattern can also be used in the .sub() method directly and the use of .compile() method is optional. .compile() method is used only to create an object based code.

So, this wraps up the discussion on how to substitute characters or, words with re library. Hopefully, you found this blog informative, if you wish to find more Python Certification course topics, keep following the Dexlab Analytics blog.

 


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Regular Expression in Python Part II: Using re library for textual data

Regex Series Part-II: Using Re Library For Textual Data

This is the second part of the Regex series, where we will be continuing on by introducing you to another library in python, the re library. The previous blog introduced you to the Regex library in Python, and you learned about meta-characters and literals which could be used for creating patterns. This particular segment is about introducing the re library to help you with textual data analysis.

Re library in python holds the key to deal with all the problems relating to textual data analysis. This library provides a range of methods that can help you build patterns and extract or substitute the desired string. For example, suppose you want to change all the negative words to positive in a novel, for that all you need to have is a soft copy of the same and then you can import the re library and use its predefined methods first to make a pattern to extract the words and then substitute it to make the required changes.

Here one such method which we are going to use today from the re library is .compile() combined with .match() method to build and extract the pattern with the help of literals and meta-characters explained in the previous blog.

.compile() and .match() Methods

.complie() is used to build the pattern. You can use the meta-characters and literals within the parenthesis to build the pattern of the word which you want to extract or change. This is practically the first step without which not much can be done in re library. But why do we need a pattern and what is it that makes it necessary? To answer this question I am going to use few steps:-

  1. First thing to do is to observe the word or the string and see what is it that makes that specific word or words which you want to extract different from the rest of the text i.e. is the word a combination of digit or alphabet or special character, is there a special character before and after the word etc.
  2. Now recall all the meta-characters we have studied so far.
  3. Combine them with the .complie() method which basically helps us bring the meta-characters together.
  4. Now all there is left for us to do is apply the pattern on the text.

Therefore knowledge of meta-characters is necessary to form patterns to manipulate your textual data.

Now let’s see how to import re library and practically solve few of the Regex questions.

Use the above code to import the Regex library.

Question 1: How to make a pattern to extract the entire string “Hello dexlab…!!”?

In the above code we are using a combination of. (period)and * where

  • . (period) means match alpha-numeric or special character
  • * means match anything zero or more times

When combined together this means that you can match alpha-numeric or special characters zero or more times. Therefore the end result is:-

.match()method has a special property that it can match anything only at the beginning of the line. Suppose I want to extract “Hello” from a string, .match()method will only work when word is at the 0 index.

Question: How to extract and match only special characters?

The above code is matching only the space which is at the 0th index but not all the simultaneous special characters. To make a pattern that can match all the special characters we can use *

You can try ? and + to check the difference it makes on the output.

Question: How to extract numbers and special characters?

Now you must be wondering why the above code did not recognize the special characters after the numbers like @ and space. Here you must remember that the output you get is based on the pattern you make. In the above code we mentioned nothing that matches anything after the numbers. So we further need to expand our line of codes.

Question: How to extract only the output?

You can use the slice operator [] to extract only the text by using 0 index.

You must have picked up the fundamentals of the re library from the blog, watch the video attached below to follow the tutorial step by step. Follow the Regex series to gain expertise in textual data handling. Dexlab Analytics blog has more interesting and informative posts on Python Programming training.

 


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Regular Expression in Python Part I: Introducing Regex Library

Regular Expression in Python Part I: Introducing Regex Library

Python is a versatile programming language and it has a rich library. In the visualization series we introduced you to different libraries used for data visualization purposes. Now, we introduce you to the Regex library in Python for handling textual data.

In Python to perform pattern recognition on textual data Regex is a library that provides a range of methods which when used with right pattern gives us the desired results. For example, if you want to change the spelling of colour to color in your text you can easily do so with the help of a given method provided that you form the pattern correctly.

Type of textual data in Regex

Literals:- In Python literals are the characters or words with their original meaning intact like the word dog means a literal dog and there is no hidden meaning behind that word.

Meta-characters:- These are the words or characters which hold special meaning for example \n means a new line or \t means tab separated values.

Given below are few of the meta-characters used in python with their meanings:-

\d – Matches a digit .i.e. \d= 1 ,\d\d= 23, \d\d\d = 345

\w – Matches alpha-numeric characters i.e. \w= 1, \w= a, \w\w= a1

\W– Matches special characters i.e. \W= %

Dog[ogn]– Matches a single character within the square bracketsi.e. Dogo, Dogg, Dogn

Dog(ogn) – Matches the entire string within the parenthesisi.e. Dogogn

Dog(ogn|aaa)– Matches either ogn or aaa i.e. Dogogn or Dogaaa

*– Matches 0 or more characters i.e. tre* = tree, tre*= tr, tre*= treeeeee

?– Matches 0 or 1 character i.e. colou?r= color, colou?r= colour

+ – Matches 1 or more character i.e. tre+= tree, tre+= treee, tre+≠tre

. – Matches alpha-numeric or special characters but only one time i.e. tre.= tree, tre.= tre#, tre.=tre1, tre.≠tre#1

The above meta-characters alone or in combination are used to form a pattern  which then are used for text mining for example tre.* means match anything 0 or more times that means now we can match tre#1 or tre.

Watch the video tutorial attached below to learn more about the fundamentals of this library. 

Hopefully you found the discussion on Regex library helpful and at the end of it you must have become familiar with the way this particular library works. To learn more about python for data analysis, keep on exploring Dexlab Analytics blog, where you will always find informative posts.

 


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