Up and Running with pandas

In this chapter, we will cover how to install pandas and start using its basic functionality. The content of the book is provided as IPython and Jupyter notebooks, and hence we will also take a quick look at using both of those tools.

This book will utilize the Anaconda scientific Python distribution from Continuum. Anaconda is a popular Python distribution with both free and paid components. Anaconda provides cross-platform support, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. The base distribution of Anaconda installs pandas, IPython and Jupyter Notebook, thereby making it almost trivial to get started.

In this chapter will cover the following topics:

• Installation of Anaconda, pandas, and IPython/Jupyter Notebook
• Using IPython and Jupyter Notebook
• Jupyter and its notebooks
• Setting up your pandas environments
• A quick introduction to the pandas Series and DataFrame
• Loading data from a CSV file
• Generating a visualization of pandas data