Linear algebra is an important topic across a variety of subjects. It allows you to solve problems related to vectors, matrices, and linear equations. In Python, most of the routines related to this subject are implemented in scipy.linalg, which offers very fast linear algebra capabilities. In particular, linear models play an important role in a variety of real-world problems, and scipy.linalg provides tools to compute them in an efficient way. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to: Study linear systems […]

If you need to speed up Python, Cython is a very useful tool. It lets you seamlessly merge Python syntax with calls into C or C++ code, making it easy to write high-performance extensions with rich Python interfaces. That being said, Cython is not the best tool in all circumstances. So in this article I’ll go over some of the limitations and problems with Cython, and suggest some alternatives. A quick overview of Cython In case you’re not familiar with […]

Python’s assignment operators allow you to define assignment statements. This type of statement lets you create, initialize, and update variables throughout your code. Variables are a fundamental cornerstone in every piece of code, and assignment statements give you complete control over variable creation and mutation. Learning about the Python assignment operator and its use for writing assignment statements will arm you with powerful tools for writing better and more robust Python code. Assignment Statements and the Assignment Operator One of […]

Processing large amounts of data with Pandas can be difficult; it’s quite easy to run out of memory and either slow down or crash. The Polars dataframe library is a potential solution. While Polars is mostly known for running faster than Pandas, if you use it right it can sometimes also significantly reduce memory usage compared to Pandas. In particular, certain techniques that you need to do manually in Pandas can be done automatically in Polars, allowing you to process […]

If you’re working with geospatial data in Python, then you might want to quickly visualize that data on a map. Python’s Folium library gives you access to the mapping strengths of the Leaflet JavaScript library through a Python API. It allows you to create interactive geographic visualizations that you can share as a website. You’ll build the web map shown below, which displays the ecological footprint per capita of many countries and is based on a similar map on Wikipedia. […]

2022 was a great year for Python. The new Python 3.11 is 10 to 60 percent faster than 3.10, thanks to the efforts of the ongoing Faster CPython project. Python continues to be popular and has spent the year as the number one programming language on the TIOBE index. At the same time, Python has become easier to run in your browser. Python’s WebAssembly port, Pyodide, has matured, and the PyScript framework has showcased some of its possibilities. Over the […]

The standard Python interpreter lets you run scripts from files or interactively execute code on the fly in a so-called read-evaluate-print loop (REPL). While this is a powerful tool for exploring the language and discovering its libraries through instant feedback on your code inputs, the default REPL shipped with Python has several limitations. Luckily, alternatives like bpython offer a much more programmer-friendly and convenient experience. You can use bpython to experiment with your code or quickly test an idea without […]