Data Science · Chapter 8 of 43

pandas Basics

pandas gives you the DATAFRAME — a 2D labelled table like a spreadsheet with superpowers.

For almost any data-science project in Python, pandas is your everyday tool.

Example 1 (python)
import pandas as pd
df = pd.DataFrame({'name': ['A','B','C'], 'score': [80, 92, 75]})
print(df)
Output
  name  score
0    A     80
1    B     92
2    C     75

Create a DataFrame from a dict.

Example 2 (python)
print(df[df['score'] > 80])
Output
  name  score
1    B     92

Boolean filtering.

Key points

  • DataFrame = 2D labelled table.
  • Series = 1D labelled array.
  • Boolean masks filter rows.
  • Method chaining is idiomatic.
💡 Note: Print `df.dtypes` early — wrong dtypes are the source of half the bugs in a data project.

📝 Quick Quiz

1. pandas' 2D structure is called:

2. df.dtypes shows:

3. Boolean filtering uses: