fabiochiu/medium-articles huggingface dataset:
What is an API?
By: J.A. Becker
Tags: Learning To Code, How To, Technology, Beginners Guide, API

How do APIs work?

Image by J.A. Becker

This picture is the same thing as the women in the image above, there’s just more stuff in it. Think of it like this: Lady A is now the iPhone on the left and Lady B is the Web Server on the right. And all that’s between them is a fancy bunch of string that carries their communications to and from one another.

Standard Internet Communication

So before I get into how an API works, I need to explain a standard internet communication, which you’re probably already familiar with. In fact, it’s what makes viewing this Medium article possible. Works like this:

A.) You click a link to this article on your iPhone

B.) Your iPhone reaches out across the internet to contact a Web Server that has this article.

C.) The Web Server returns the article back to your iPhone and then you can read it.

And that is a standard internet communication that happens a gazillion times a day.

API Communication

Image by J.A. Becker

So same picture as before, but now I’ve put two API layers in it: one in front of the iPhone and one in front of the Web Server. The API layers are actually inside the iPhone and inside the Web Server, but I’ve drawn them outside cause I have no drawing skills and it’s easier to explain this way.

Now the communications go through the APIs. And that’s really the point of the API — it has a standard way to accept and process data for the system it is a part of.

That’s why APIs are usually represented with some kind of plug icon, like the image on the left. The data sent to the API has to match up with what the API will accept — else, you don’t connect. 🔌

So the iPhone API has a standard way of communicating and accepting data and the Web Server API has a standard way of communicating and accepting data.

And really that’s how an API works: the API is embedded in a device or a system and it defines how other devices or systems can talk to it.
What should I learn to grow as a programmer or as a Software Engineer?
Tags: Sofware Development, Programming, Learning To Code, Learning And Development

You should at least learn 25 programming languages in detail, having a Ph.D. is always better. Should need an IQ more than Issac Newton almost 200. 😂

No, I’m just joking. These are some rumors about programming.

Learning a programming language is not that tough as proving maths problems. You just need some logic and curiosity.

As a beginner what should I learn is a big question. Anyway, before you start learning things I want to say that don’t stop, you should always motivate yourself, ’cause things may take a lot of time, patience must.

Now back to the point.

In my point of view don’t choose python as your first language. Python is always a great language but python makes you lazy. As a starter that’s not good.

Try learning languages such as Java, C++, C, etc because you can learn low-level concepts and the importance of syntax, and many more. After learning any of these languages it is always great if you learn python. If you start learning python as a beginner as it is easy to learn you skip a lot of important things.

After learning your first language and its concepts. Then don’t wait fool, just start creating projects. Start with Youtube tutorials or have money then buy a udemy course. Find time to watch tutorials and practice along with the instructor.

I know now you are thinking like what the f**ing project I should make. For instance, if you learn java you should search for Spring tutorials. Spring is a framework in java for web applications. Or if you learn JavaScript search about Node, ExpressJs, etc. If python you have many options, choose according to your interest, if you like web dev go for Django. A tip: don’t waste time on doing repeated projects(can do updates) ’cause lots of students do that I know. Doing so, you will not get new knowledge and ideas. Always take notes from your project and you can refer to it in an upcoming project if it uses the same feature. Try creating more and more complex projects.

Knowing how to use a framework and make your ideas to reality is always a superpower⚡.

If you want to be a good developer never stop learning and making projects on what you have learned. Make projects as long as you die or get killed 😂.

Last but not least things may take a lot of time and don’t lose your patience.
Life After Flatiron
By: Sharon Watkins
Tags: Learning To Code, Web Development, Codingbootcamp, Programming, Coding

525 clock hours completed

Over 526 Coding Labs completed

5 Portfolio projects completed and passed

Sooooo……what happens after you complete Flatiron’s Software Engineering track and graduate?

It can be confusing on where to go from here. The internet always has an opinion on what you should do next. Problem is that there is over a billion opinions on the internet.

The good thing is you aren’t left to your own devices and have to figure things out on your own. This is a continuation to your programming journey.

Flatiron gives you a huge chunk of curriculum you can learn at your own pace. Everything from Angular to Java is there waiting for you to dive in. So why wasn’t this included in the structure course work? That is because the most important thing you are taught is how to learn and how to assimilate new tech into your knowledge base.

Let’s not forget that you also have a job hunt to get to. Flatiron gives you access to career-prep curriculum and a real live career coach to guide you through the process of finding your dream job or at least that first foot in the door of the highly competitive tech industry.

What else should you be doing?

CODE..CODE..CODE….everyday…CODE

Don’t let your new found talents get rusty. Keep going and make it a routine.

Something else you might want to check into is open source projects to contribute to. It shows you can collaborate with others and can help make up what you may lack in production level code.

Meetups and networking…whether it be virtually or in-person…its important. Get your name and work out there.

It may seem like a long haul and at times you may feel like you aren’t gaining any traction but you can’t give up. A winner is someone who just tried one more time…over and over again.
Flutter, Why extremely in trending!!!
Tags: Flutter, Learning To Code, Web Development, Mobile App Development, Learning And Development

Have you heard about CROSS-PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT!!!

If so then I guess you are in the programming world or planning to become a part of the programming world.

But before that let’s understand why the CROSS-PLATFORM in the picture.

Nowadays, people like to buy their necessities through mobile because of pandemics like coronavirus.

It is a daunting task for a business class who is finding it difficult to run their business in these difficult times to build their mobile application for different devices.

So here comes the developer with a NEW IDEA “CROSS-PLATFORM DEVELOPMENT”.

READ MORE

Flutter, Why extremely in trending!!! (programmingwithharshida.blogspot.com)

#programming #webdevelopment #developer #developer #javascript #html #Flutter, #learnflutter, #startlearningflutter, #flutternative, #googleflutter, #flutterweb, #flutterforweb, #flutterexamples, #androidstudioflutter, #learnflutterfromscratch, #learnflutteranddart, #flutterlanguagetutorial, #flutterdevelopmenttutorial, #learndartprogrammingforflutter, #flutterappdevelopmentcourse, #bestresourcestolearnflutter, #flutterprogramminglanguagetutorial, #learnflutterappdevelopment, #besttutorialforflutter, #fluttertrainingcourse,
Enemy: 2, attempt: 1.
By: Kristin Treder
Tags: Unity, Unity3d, Learning To Code

Today I started by finally biting the bullet and creating a new enemy. With all the alien talk circulating right now, I really wanted to find a cool UFO png file to convert to my new enemy spaceship. This is what I found:

Enemy2

So I took this png and converted it to a sprite by adding a rigidbody2D as well as a 2D circle collider. After attaching the enemy script and replacing all enemies with the new enemy, this is what I came up with.

As you can see, there are a few problems. First, the enemies look *horrible*… and not in a good way. I thought the glowing green accents would look really sharp but when shrunken down to size, they just look really sloppy and pixilated and of poor quality. Also, they only shoot one laser (compared to the two the normal enemy deploys) and the explosion animation is way too small. I think it’s rather odd to run into such problems as it’s basically just substituting what the enemy *looks* like. I’m confused on why *anything* is different to be honest (besides the sprite itself).

Overall, I’m not really happy with this look and will go back and tinker with my 2D shooter game in my spare time. BECAUSE we believe that this will be our last week with GameDevHQ (due to the end of current government funding), I’ve decided to move onto the next assignment which is entitled “Stealth Game and Cinematography”. Some of my group members have been working on this for a while already and it look like it could be a lot of fun!
Learn PYTHON PROGRAMMING
By: Stanley Ze Ya
Tags: Python, Learning, Learning To Code, Programming, Coding

PYTHON PROGRAMMING: 2 book in 1: A complete guide from beginner to intermediate on python machine…

PYTHON PROGRAMMING: 2 book in 1: A complete guide from beginner to intermediate on python machine learning, data…
Learning to Code as a Student
By: Richard Coric
Tags: Learning, Code, Learning To Code

Now for specific tips (These are entirely based on what I did and may not necessarily work for you, it depends on what type of learner you are)

Python — Most features of Python can be learned from SoloLearn. They take you through everything from variables to OOP and functional programming. Once you have the basic awareness, it is again a case of practice. I use CodeWars for this they have incrementally harder problems, and show you solutions from other people once you have completed the challenge; learn from them, pick apart the interesting ones this will help you in the long term. Learning a language is all a mind game be aware of a feature, recall 50% and google the rest.

Book suggestion: Python Tricks the Book by Dan Bader

HTML and CSS — You can again learn this from SoloLearn (that’s what I did), many people like to use W3Schools.

Book suggestion: HMTL and CSS by Jon Duckett

Javascript — JS is on Sololearn. However, it is such a huge topic which can only be learned by practice and building things. I suggest Frontendmentor.io. Javascript is one of those gifts which keeps on giving. I suggest you have a look into JavaScript.info

Book suggestions: Jon Duckett’s Javascript and JQuery and for more advanced users: Eloquent Javascript (People have mixed opinions about this because of the complexity, but personally understanding something more complicated gives you a better understanding of the basics)

React — I will be talking about React, but this applies to any framework.

Disclaimer: I am not by any means saying you should learn React there are many other cool JS frameworks like Svelte and Vue. Try them all and choose, don’t go for what’s hot right now. I may also be handy to look at jobs in your area, depending on your goals.

I learned React from CodeEvolutions youtube series suggested to me by a good friend of mine, but have a look at the documentation to extend your knowledge, and get used to navigating it.

Django — Django is a full-stack python framework. This may sound like the common answer of “Read the Docs!!”, but the Django documentation is one of the best I’ve seen. They have a tutorial for beginners which I suggest following, you will build a simple polls app. Make sure to get used to the layout. For Django, I once again turned to good old Youtube and watched Corey Shafer’s series (I have a series of posts on this). From there is a case of building as much as you can with reference to your old code. Don’t be afraid to steal code from yourself.

I’m currently learning Django Rest Framework, so check back here of an update on that; if you’re interested.

How do you learn? Type it bellow and let’s create a thread for the code community.

Got questions about me and code check the FAQ
What Are Leaky Abstractions? (An Illustrated Guide)
By: Young Coder
Tags: Abstraction, Learning To Code, Software Design, Design Patterns, Programming

If you take a look around right now, you’ll find yourself surrounded by some very complex objects. Smartphones, computers, printers, cars, televisions, toasters — the list goes on. But no matter how complex these devices are, you can use them to do what you need, even though you’d have a hard time building any one of them on your own.

This small miracle is thanks to a principle we call abstraction. Abstraction is the design philosophy that replaces a tangled mess of complex details with a tidy interface you can use to GSD (Get Stuff Done). Abstraction is also at work deep in the heart of every software program, straining to hold back the floodwaters of confusion. And every so often, those abstractions start to leak.

In this article, you’ll find out what it means to have a leaky abstraction, why they happen, and whether you — a serious coder — should worry about it.

Let’s introduce abstractions (again)

Don’t you hate when people explain object-oriented programming with cars? Me too. But it turns out that the humble automobile is actually a pretty good metaphor when you need to talk about abstraction.

Here’s how it works. The average car has a simple driving interface made up something like this: a start button, a steering wheel to set direction, and two pedals to control speed. You use the start button (or key) to get started, even though you know nothing about the functioning of the battery starter and the gas combustion engine. (Programmer version: you call the Car.Start() method.) You use the steering wheel to point yourself in different directions, even though you don’t understand how the steering column is powered or how the wheels are connected. And so on.

The same thing happens with computers. You can visit a website by typing a web address in a box. You don’t need to understand how DNS lookups are performed to find the right website, or how your device performs a TCP handshake with the far-away web server so they can talk. Which is good because those processes are quite detailed.

Over time, we create new abstractions and we add to existing ones. When people first designed cars, the interface didn’t include a speedometer (programmer talk: there was no Car.CurrentSpeed property). But it turns out that it’s very difficult to get car objects to obey the static Road.MaxSpeed property without one. So they added it in the next version, and life has never been the same since.

To design something — anything — is to think about creating the right abstraction. A good abstraction is one that exposes all the important details and nothing unnecessary. One that balances control and complexity. One that provides methods and properties that map easily to the tasks you want to perform. If an abstraction is designed well, using it feels straightforward and logical.
Binary Search Trees #3
Tags: Python, Binary Search Tree, Learning, Learning To Code, Data Structures

Used In Examples. Source: Wikipedia

First, let’s discuss and implement the In Order Traversal method. The In Order Traversal method is when you traverse the BST from the bottom of the left subtree, to the root, then to the right subtree. In the example tree above, an In Order Traversal would output an array that reads: [1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13, 14]. To implement this in code, we will use Recursion and will basically traverse the left subtree by calling the traversal method, append the root value, and then traverse the right subtree by calling the traversal method. The code would look like the following:

Next, let’s look into the Pre Order Traversal method. The Pre Order Traversal method is when you traverse the BST from the root, then from the top of the left subtree, and then from the top of the right subtree. In the example tree above, a Pre Order Traversal would output an array that reads: [8, 3, 1, 6, 4, 7, 10, 14, 13]. Implementing this code is very similar to the In Order Traversal, the only change is that we are appending the root value to our array at the beginning in line 3, and then are running traversals on the left subtree and then the right subtree. The code looks like this:

Our last traversal method is Post Order Traversal. The Post Order Traversal method is when you traverse the BST from the bottom left of the left subtree, then traverse the right subtree, and then finally from the root. In the example tree above, a Post Order Traversal would output an array that reads: [1, 4, 7, 6, 3, 13, 14, 10, 8]. This method looks very similar to the previous two methods, except the array appends the current root value at the end of both traversals, which are ordered as the left subtree traversal and the then the right subtree traversal. The code would looks like this:
My Four Year Anniversary as a Software Engineer — Quick Recap
By: Tj Oyeniyi
Tags: Startup Lessons, Learning To Code, Entrepreneurship, Software Engineering, Learn To Code

Today’s my four year anniversary as a software engineer!

I still remember calling my dad back in April 2016 to tell him my plan to quit my job in June, teach myself to code full-time until October, and get a job by December 2016, latest.

Can’t believe I met those crazy deadlines. And these past four years have been just as crazy.

My first engineering job, I was the sole software engineer at a startup with a Black CEO. Even more amazing, the startup got into the Techstars 2017 accelerator and I got to experience that with him.

The next startup I went to ended up getting on Shark Tank and we made a deal with one of the Sharks!

It was amazing being part of that experience and helping lead the engineering effort to keep our site up when we aired.

Then, I moved to DC and ended up working at a company where I had a solid group of Black co-workers for the first time.

Even the engineering team started out all Black, except the manager. My tech lead was Nigerian. He’s like an older brother to me now.

Oh yeah, built my own startup.

Then, Covid.

Now I’m back in Texas at another startup while building my own business on the side.

The past four years have been fun, but I know I didn’t come this far just to come this far…

2021 👀👀👀
ES6 for everyone — Course review. Learn how JavaScript works today.
By: Jérémie Litzler
Tags: Es6 In Depth, Learning To Code, Wes Bos, JavaScript

What

The course is about learning the new features available in JavaScript (it has been available for quite a while) from ES6 and more.

Where

The course can be purchased from www.es6.io.

You just need a good Visual Studio Code or your favorite code editor.

Who

The course is taught by Wes Bos, a canadian developer and teacher.

He has created many many courses about JavaScript that thousand of students have taken.

He is very engaging when he teaches and that is something that keeps you interested during the entire course.

The Good

It covers almost all of the features of ES6 (what about Internationalization & Localization? Maybe it wasn’t available as part of ES6 at the time… ask Wes!).

Despite some of the lessons missing more concrete use cases, the majority of the lessons were full of good examples.

Wes provides the starter files and the solution. But have a go, challenge yourself and try to code it yourself.

In my case, I really went into the details of the Promises, ES6 Tooling and Async+Await lessons.

Also, the slack community was super great! I had to ask a couple of questions and wow, Wes has someone that looks like is dedicated to the courses and he answers very quickly. Thanks A-J Roos!

The Bad

Nothing really blocking. Read on to the missing bits to know more.

The Missing bits

The course is old (released in 2017) and would need a little update, especially in lesson 13 where we learn to use webpack and babel. Maybe a course could be built about that…

It might need a refresher, especially to help the people who are really new to npm. Or an advice would be to practice npm.

What I did is stick to the exact same npm package versions that Wes used so that I would get the same result.

If you follow along, you will find out that installing the latest packages will not work since the courses doesn’t cover the breaking change in the webpack and babel packages.

No matter what, the community is there to help.

Also, there are exercises and they are good but the course would be really great if the student could have a clear understanding of use cases to use such or such features.

Maybe a small project with, for each stage, a focus on each feature studied would have been a great way to practice the feature. That’s what is done in the Responsive Web Design Bootcamp course over in Scrimba.

Summary

Going through the entire course took me 15 hours.

I had taken the “Mobile Web Specialist” nanodegree at Udacity where I learned mainly the service worker technology and the prerequisite was to learn about ES6 before diving into the more complex PWA topic.

You can read my courses notes on the dedicated repository.

Thanks Wes for creating this course and many others. I have purchased quite a few of his courses.

Next stop: the JavaScript30 course that might just be the course to fill the whole of the missing bits. Stay tuned!
You’ve Settled in as an Engineer. Now What?
By: Tim Hwang
Tags: Startup, Learning To Code, Software Engineering, Programming, Personal Development

You’ve Settled in as an Engineer. Now What?

Photo by True Agency on Unsplash

Congrats! You’ve settled in at your first job. You’ve made it past the initial wave of impostor syndrome and have some idea of what you’re doing and what you’re good at. You might’ve even received a promotion or two. You’re no longer wildly floundering every day and are able to at least flounder in the right direction. You might even be on your second or third job at this point. You actually feel like a real engineer now.

Now what?

It’s common to feel a sensation of plateauing after an initial few years of hypergrowth. This is only natural: Growth comes from new information, and the supply of novelty provided by a job quickly dries up as the years pass by. Up to this point, simply engaging with your job was enough to provide steady improvement; now, you must actively seek new information to keep growing.

Before proceeding, I want to clarify one thing: being happy with where you are is perfectly fine. You might feel entirely comfortable with plateauing, and that doesn’t make you any less of a person. If you’re content and have job security, congrats — you’ve won. It’s not worth it to burn yourself out trying to level up if you’re not motivated to do so.
How do I not get burnt out when learning to code?
By: Erin Skidds
Tags: Learning, Learning To Code, Web Development, Life, Programming

That is a great question! Unfortunately, it isn’t as complex as you may think it is. It has a simple answer. You just have to pace yourself.

That means when you are learning to code, learn small sections at a time and make sure you take 2 days off during the week. Treat it like a full time job. Yes, you can work “overtime” when learning and during 5 days a week go crazy but during the other 2 days, don’t code anything at all. That gives your brain, body, etc. time to relax and unwind so you don’t get burnt out.

If you have tried this and are still feeling burnt out, then take 3 days off or 4 days off. Yes, it may take you longer to learn how to code and that is okay. There is no “deadline” for when you need to learn how to code by. Also, you don’t “need” to learn how to code. It is a “want” meaning you can get yourself to that point in your own time.

I hope this helps!
Quickgunz 3d Visualization, Modeling, Animation, And Rendering Company
By: Modeling And Animation Company
Tags: Animation, Visualization, 3d Modeling, 3d, 3d Design

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Easy Visualization Techniques to Help You Find Your True Purpose in Life
By: Barbara A. Scott
Tags: Life Purpose, Goals, Visualization

When it comes to finding your true life’s purpose, the key to achieving what you want may lie in your ability to utilize visualization to achieve it. Knowing how to visualize the outcome that you desire will help you become a stronger, happier, and more effective person and help you find your true life’s purpose. Here are three easy visualization techniques to help you reach your goals.

Treasure Map Technique

This visualization technique uses both a physical component as well as the obvious mental one. The first thing that you need to do is to think of something that you would like to achieve. Begin by drawing a physical representation of all the factors that are involved. If you want to earn the top score on an exam, draw a picture of yourself, a building to represent the school and a book to represent study. You want to try and make the drawing as detailed as possible. The drawing itself isn’t the critical factor, but rather it is what you are picturing as you draw.

Receptive Visualization

This technique is like watching a movie in your mind, except you get to control the scenes. While this is a more passive approach than the previous one, it can still be just as effective. Lie down, close your eyes, and try to picture the scene you want to visualize vividly. When you get a clear image of the scene in your head, add people and the noises to the movie. Slowly build the image until you have the entire picture of the scene in your head and can feel yourself being involved in the action.

Altered Memory Visualization

This technique focuses on changing memories from your past to have a more favorable outcome. This is especially helpful for resolving memories that involved resentment and anger. Replay the scene in your mind, but replace the angry responses with more controlled and calm ones. After a while, your brain will only remember the scene playing out as you re-created it, and the uncomfortable memories of the event will begin to fade away.

Using any of these visualization techniques will help you achieve your goals and find your true life’s purpose. Along with these techniques, you will need to put in the work to actually reach your goals, but after some time and hard work, you’ll achieve your goals and discover what you’re really meant to do.

Do you need help uncovering your vision? Developing your action plan? Need motivation to achieve your goals? Contact me and let’s get started!
That is great.I
By: Alex Duncan
Tags: Seaborn, Statistics, Visualization, Python

That is great.I see that you provided a brief description about plot methods of python libraries.That is very useful article about visualization options.Thank you so much.
That was wonderful.It
By: Alex Duncan
Tags: Matplotlib, Visualization, Python

That was wonderful.It was clear and brief article about visualization options in Python.Thank you so much.
My 2021 Predictions and Premonitions
By: Colin Munro Wood
Tags: Predictions, Visualization, Future, News, Extrasensory Perception

Bitcoin will rise to an unprecedented $50K by year’s end.

The American government and DOD will join the rest of the world’s countries in verifying the true presence and our relations with multiple civilizations from within the Milky Way Galaxy and beyond.

The world will see COVID-19 dwindle beginning in February, and life will return to normal in time for summer travel and vacations.

A new Pandemic will begin out of either the Congo or western Africa.

Trump will be tried for crimes and possible treason for most of the year, replacing COVID as the world’s main focus.

The Yankees will win the World Series.

Tesla, PayPal, and Marijuana stocks will be the top positive moving stocks behind Bitcoin. Still, most of the market will see another breaking of a bubble economy, and the rich will hide billions, of 2020’s gains, in Cryptocurrency.

My older children will speak to me for the first time since 2016. (If you say it, it will happen!)

Joe Biden will suffer a stroke in November, and Kamala Harris will become America’s first female President.

The Dems will take over the Senate after the January Senate runoff elections.

Congress and Biden will legalize marijuana.

Hybrid education for children will become permanent.

A major Hurricane will sweep past the north of Puerto Rico and devastate most of Florida.

China will invade India, and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un will join their forces but die by year’s end.

Glenn Close will win the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama for Hillbilly Elegy.

Amy Adams will win the Best Actress Globe for her performance in Hillbilly Elegy.

Hillbilly Elegy will win Best Drama Series at the first remote Golden Globes.

Anthony Hopkins will pass away.

A white supremacist organization will commit or attempt to commit a major terrorist act in Washington D.C. to take over the White House.

CRISPR/CAS-9 gene editing will enter human trials.

A cure for neurological diseases involving the alteration of gut bacteria will be announced by year’s end.

National Healthcare will be approved and signed by President Kamala Harris in December.

Nancy Pelosi will become the Vice President when Harris becomes President.

Trump and his family members will be found guilty of multiple crimes in NYS by year’s end.

Happy 2021!

Gain Access to Expert View — Subscribe to DDI Intel
US STEM Bills Passed Since 1973
By: Jazmia Henry
Tags: Heatmap, Visualization, Plotly, Politics

And before you starting thinking, “Well, I bet nothing got passed when the Democrats were the majority in one chamber and Republicans in the other, or when we had a President that did not share the party of the majority in Congress” — think again. When we had a split government, MORE bills concerning STEM and Tech were passed.
Organizing and Visualizing Variables
By: Mradul Dwivedi
Tags: Data Science, Summarization, Visualization

Business Case: You have been asked to define, collect, organize, and visualize data about some retirement funds in ways that could assist prospective clients in making decisions about the funds in which they will invest.

Data: You have been given 361 retirement funds to analyze

Beginning: You begin by defining variables for key characteristics of each fund, such as past performance of each fund, amount of assets that a fund manages, and whether the goal of the fund is to invest in companies whose earnings are expected to grow substantially in the future(growth fund) or invest in companies whose stock price is undervalued(value fund).

You collect data from sources and organize data. Now, showing a 361 row sheet to a client would not be such a good idea. So, you would want to now summarize the data and bring out insights to help the client make an informed decision.

This article does not contain a lot of material to read on. It just contain the key words so one can google search of not familiar.

Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash

Organizing Categorical Variables:

The summary table:

Helps to see an aggregated view of each category in terms of percentage or frequencies or amount.

The Contingency table:

Cross tabulates values of 2 or more categorical variables in terms of percentage of row total, percentage of column total, percentage of overall total, frequencies or amount.

Organizing Numerical Variables:

The Ordered Array:

Arrange numerical data in ascending or descending order.

The Frequency Distribution:

Set of numerically ordered classes, each class group has a class interval with a mutually exclusive range of values.

The total of the frequency column must always equal the number of values.

Class boundaries and class midpoints.

Interval width = (highest value — lowest value)/(number of classes)

The Relative Frequency Distribution and The Percentage Distribution:

When you compare two or more groups, knowing the proportion of the total for each group is more useful than knowing the frequency of each group.

Proportion = relative frequency = (no of values in each class)/(total no of values)

The Cumulative Distribution:

It is the running total of each subclass and class before it.

Visualizing Categorical Variables:

Bar Chart

Pie Chart

Pareto Chart

Side-by-side Bar chart

Visualizing Numerical Variables:

Stem-and-leaf Display

Histogram

Percentage Polygon

Cumulative Percentage Polygon

Visualizing two Numerical Variables:

Scatter plot

Time Series Plot

Organizing and Visualizing a set of Variables:

Multidimensional Contingency table

Data Discovery
Credit Card Fraud Detection: In-Depth Study: Data Preparation
By: Nikhil Thapa
Tags: Visualization, Data Preprocessing, Analysis, Credit Card Fraud, Data Science

As we observe the ‘Time’ and ‘Amount’ features need to be scaled before we proceed to build machine learning models

Feature Scaling:

The goal is to make sure features are on almost the same scale so that each feature is equally important and makes it easier to process by most Machine Learning Algorithms. It is generally used to bring all values to the same magnitude.

There are two primary Feature Scaling methods:

1. Standardization

2. Normalization

Standardization: Commonly referred to as Z-Score Normalization. In this, the feature will be scaled to ensure the Mean and Standard Deviation are to be 0 and 1 respectively.

Xstandardization = X — Mean(x)/ SD(X)

This Technique rescales features value with the distribution value between 0 & 1 and useful for optimizing algorithms, such as Gradient Descent, that is used within Machine Learning Algorithm that weights input (Regression and Neural Network). Rescaling is also an algorithm that uses distance measurements(E.g. KNN )

Max-Min Normalization:

It is a technique to rescale features with a distribution value between 0 and 1. For every feature, the minimum value of that feature gets transformed into 0, and the maximum value gets transformed into 1.

Xnorm = x — min(x)/ max(x) — min(x)

What’s best for the credit card dataset:

Max-min Normalization features will have a small Standard deviation compared to Standardization. Normalization will scale most of the data to a small interval, which means all features will have a small scale but do not handle outliers well.

Whereas, Standardization is robust to outliers. They transform the probability distribution for an input variable to standard Gaussian Standardization can become skewed or biased if the input variable contains outlier values.

To overcome this, the median and Interquartile range can be used when standardizing numerical input variables which technique is referred to as robust scaling.

Robust scaling uses percentile to scale numerical input variables that contain outliers by scaling numerical input variables using the median and interquartile range.

It calculated the median, 25th, and 75th percentiles. The value of each variable is then subtracted with median and divided by Interquartile range (IQR)

Value = (value- median) / (p75 — p25)

This results in variable having mean to 0, median and standard deviation to 1
The Python visualization Jupyter notebook tutorial you are looking for
By: Ronald Leung
Tags: Charts, Jupyter Notebook, Visualization, Graph

2. Minimum polishing

It’s good to see a line but there’s plenty to be desired in the graph. At the minimum, here is a list of things you must adjust before including chart size, axis labels, titles, and legends. Here’s an example to set these:

3. Pivots and Multi-line charts

Putting two series in the same chart is probably one of the most common request, and it is easy to do with just a few lines of code. In our example, we have two series, column A and B. We will use the values of Column A in varies scales, and values of Column B, plotting them all in one chart with different colors and labels in the Legend. The following snippet does the trick:

4. Histogram

Histogram is another very common and useful way to display your data in groups (or bins). Fortunately it’s easy to do. Specifying the bins is not a must, but I find it confusing if you don’t know exactly where the bins are. The following example shows histogram with some minimal polishing necessary.

5. Subplots

One plot is great, a bunch is better sometimes. In cases you want to visualize multiple charts side by side but not on the same graphs, subplots are what you want. The following snippets show how you can specify the number of rows and columns you need, and then use a for loop to plot the charts one by one into the grid.

6. Multiple y scales

When putting two lines into the same chart though, sometimes the values may be in very different scales like this example. One line just look flat when plotted together:

What you may need to do in this case is to use a separate y axis for this column if you want to show it on a separate axis as follows:

That’s all folks! Hope these snippets provided you a quick start. Again the source code is available here.
Why You Should Never ‘Aspire’ To Be a Writer
By: Glyn Bawden
Tags: Motivation, Visualization, Self Improvement, Mind, Writing Tips

Mind Your Language

It brings me back to the language we use to describe ourselves in our bios and I often see the word ‘aspiring’. I see ‘aspiring writer’, ‘aspiring novelist’, ‘aspiring comedian’ and so on.

You should never use words like ‘aspiring’ to describe yourself for a number of reasons.

The first is that if you describe yourself as an ‘aspiring’ something, you are giving yourself an easy way out. You have already failed because in your mind you are not as you describe yourself. You are not a writer or a comedian, you just want to be and as long as you have that safety net of the word ‘aspiring’ then its’ ok.

Secondly, your brain is super-powerful. It cannot distinguish between what is real and what is imaginary.

If you tell your brain that you are aspiring to be something, then at a subconscious level, that’s what it will believe. However, if you tell your brain you ARE something then it will believe that as well.

Studies have shown that if you imagine and visualise doing something often enough your brain will convince itself that you’ve done it.

In a study at the Lerner Research Institute in Cleveland, imagining flexing the little finger for 15 minutes daily for 3 months was shown to increase muscle strength by 35% … and the volunteers hadn’t even lifted a finger.

It is the reason why so many athletes use visualisation techniques more and more. In the Rugby World Cup final in 2003, when England’s Johnny Wilkinson received the ball for the winning drop goal, many watching were surprised at how calm he appeared under such intense pressure. The fact was, that it wasn’t the first time he’d done the kick. He had visualised such a situation so many times before that his mind accepted it as real.

In his book ‘How To Get From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be’ Jack Canfield dedicates a chapter to the title ‘Act As If’ . He recognises that the power of the subconscious mind is so strong that if you ‘act as if’ you are successful or have achieved your goals then your brain starts to accept it as reality.
Date drill-down/drill-up in Tableau
By: Gauri Rajgopal
Tags: Data Visualization, Tableau, Visualization, Tableau Training

Creating functionality to drill down/up on Dates

Step 1: Create a new parameter called ‘Date format’

Create a list value parameter called Date format to store the different date types you would need to drill-down into your data as follows:

Image by Author

If you want the default dates to be in Month format, you can set the Current Value as Month instead of Day.

Once the parameter is created, show parameter control in order to let the user switch between the level of date detail required.

Step 2: Create a calculated field ‘Date calculated’ to change the date formats

Now that you have the parameter created in order to store the different date formats, you need to link any change in the Date Format parameter to the dates being displayed in the dashboard. Create a calculated field that would automatically change the format of the dates as the parameter value changes.

Image by Author

Here, by default, the if clause kicks-in and shows the values as dates since I set the Current Value in the Date Format parameter as ‘Day’. If I had set it as ‘Month’, the IF clause would have appeared as follows:

IF [Date Format] = ‘month’ THEN STR(MONTH([Order Date]))

For ‘Month’ as Current Value in the Date Format parameter, the ELSE clause would remain the same as shown in the image above.

Step 3: Build the worksheet

Once the calculated field is created, all that is left to do is create the sheet and let the magic unfold!

Drag Sales to Columns and Order date to Rows which would show the dates as Years. Additionally, drag the calculated field of Date calculated to Rows, placing it next to Order Date. Now that your worksheet is ready, you can change the date format values using the parameter control and voila you can drill-down/drill-up the sales data based on the date values.
Visualization For Beginners
By: Boss Up
Tags: Visualization, Dreams And Visions

You may not realize it, but you are already a powerful visualizer. You probably spend a lot of time imagining your life, but chances are you’re more focused on worry and anxiety, not on making success your reality. How often do you think about that presentation or that date, and imagine the worst possible outcome? If your inner monologue tends to revolve around potential mishaps or anxious ‘what ifs?” then you need to switch up your visualizing.

Time to accentuate the positive and welcome success into your life!

1. Know what you want

Elite sports players use this technique all the time to improve their performance and achieve their goals. They visualize scoring that goal or winning their race. Imagine if a pole vaulter looked at the vault and thought, ‘oh man, that’s high, I’ll never do it.’ That’s setting themselves up for failure, right? Instead, look at your deepest desire, be clear about it, and see yourself soaring over that pole.

2. Be Clear About Your Goal

The secret sauce of visualizing success lies in the details. See yourself achieving, even surpassing your goal. Say our pole vaulter wants to clear six meters. Visualizing six meters isn’t enough. They have to imagine six and a half, maybe even seven.

Instead of a new job, visualize a promotion, visualize being CEO. See yourself winning that prize. Visualize your personal best and see yourself smashing it. Think big and ask yourself, “What would my life look like when I achieve my goal?”

3. Feel Your Success

Once you have clarity on what you want, focus your attention on what success feels like. What emotions come up for you as you imagine yourself living that life of success?

4. Start Making Success Happen

Success doesn’t come overnight or all in a bunch. You can start making your successful life today by taking the baby steps you need to build your success on. Every day before you get out of bed, think of three things you can do that day to move you closer to achieving your dreams.

5. Stick to it

Successful people are persistent people. They know that true, lasting success takes time and effort. There will be setbacks and missteps, and plenty of challenges on the way. But if you have a purpose and a clear vision, you’ll make it. Keep your eyes on the prize and don’t give up

You have the power to change your reality to manifest success and happiness. You just have to start believing in the best possible outcomes, not the worst. Rev up your visualizing engine and get started! You can do it!

Click Here To Learn More…
How to Achieve Your Goals Using Visualization
By: Barbara A. Scott
Tags: Vision Board, Goals, Visualization

When it comes to awakening your true calling, success begins with a goal. Big or small, goals will give you some purpose and keep you headed in the right direction. Unfortunately, for many of us, we remain stuck at the goal stage. We begin with good intentions, but then we can’t seem to make it happen. Before we can believe in a goal that we’ve set for ourselves, we first need to have an idea of what the goal looks like.

Seeing is Believing

This is where visualization comes in, which is nothing more than a technique for creating a mental image of a future event. When we visualize that which we desire, we start to see the possibility of achieving it. It is through visualization that we can catch a glimpse of what is our “preferred future.” When this happens, we find the motivation and prepare ourselves to pursue our goal.

Why Visualization Works

According to research, visualization works because the neurons in our brains, interpret the imagery as equivalent to real-life action. When we can visualize an act, the brain generates an impulse that tells the neurons to perform the movement. This then creates a new neural pathway that helps prime the body to act in a way that is consistent with what we just imagined. All of this happens without actually performing the activity physically, yet it achieves a similar result.

Putting it All Together

Visualization will keep you tethered to your goals and increase your chances of accomplishing them. It doesn’t matter who you are, the power of visualization is available to everyone.

There are two kinds of visualization techniques. While each serves a distinct purpose, they should be used together to have the most significant effect. The first method is outcome visualization, which involves you envisioning achieving your goals. To do this, you need to create a detailed mental image of the desired outcome.

The second visualization technique is called process visualization. This involves envisioning every action required to achieve the result you want. To do this, you need to focus on completing each of the steps you need to accomplish your goals, but not on the overall purpose itself.

Visualization does not guarantee success, and it doesn’t replace hard work and practice. However, when combined with diligent effort, it is a powerful way to achieve positive, behavioral change and create the life you desire.

One of my favorite visualization tools is Mind Movies. I would love to hear what your favorite tools and methods are for visualizing your future — let me know!
Visualization, the Brainchild of Plausible
By: Chetna Jai
Tags: Life Lessons, Visualization, Self Improvement, Life, Self-awareness

That is the power of visualization — a mental rehearsal technique where you imagine your goal or rehearse it in your mind countless times, and how some contestants on American Ninja Warrior prepare their bodies as well as their minds for the challenge that awaits them.

This technique is tried and tested, by many famous people including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Oprah Winfrey, Jim Carey, Sara Blakey, Will Smith, and even athletes such as Michael Phelps and Michael Jordan to name a few.

The Practise of visualization contributes to success, goals, confidence, performance and many other dreams over the long term.

What I will be looking at is how I use, and how you can use visualization for the short term. In everyday life.