Hands-On Data Analysis with NumPy and pandas: Implement Python packages from data manipulation to processing

Getting started with data analysis in Python means learning more than a few library commands. Curtis Miller’s Hands-On Data Analysis with NumPy and pandas builds from the tools and environment into the arrays, tables, and operations that make data easier to work with.

Across six chapters, the book introduces NumPy and pandas in a practical sequence, with room for setup, database basics, and plotting alongside the core data-manipulation techniques. It is aimed at Python developers beginning to explore data analysis.

Start with a working Python environment

The opening chapter covers Anaconda, Jupyter notebooks and alternatives, Conda package management, and setting up a MySQL database. This groundwork gives readers a clearer picture of the tools used in the examples before the book moves into array and table operations.

Work through NumPy arrays

Chapters on NumPy explain array creation, data types, indexing and slicing, arithmetic, broadcasting, and linear algebra. The emphasis is on understanding how arrays are selected and manipulated, as well as how NumPy methods and functions support those tasks.

Make sense of data with pandas

The pandas sections introduce Series and DataFrames, then explore adding, saving, and subsetting data. Later chapters extend that foundation to arithmetic, function application, mapping, and dealing with missing values—everyday concerns when working with real datasets.

Organize, index, and plot

Sorting, ranking, hierarchical indexing, and plotting round out the book. Taken together, these topics show how data can be arranged and examined using the features of pandas, rather than treated as a collection of disconnected commands.

A practical first step into data analysis

This book is suited to Python developers who want a guided introduction to NumPy and pandas and the basic workflow around them. Its chapter-by-chapter progression makes it useful for building familiarity with the libraries’ foundational operations and vocabulary.