Getting Column Names in a Pandas DataFrame
Pandas is a popular data manipulation library in Python. Its DataFrame is a tabular data type widely used in data analysis and machine learning tasks.
One of the common operations in manipulating data in Pandas is getting column names. This article will guide you through three methods of getting column names in a Pandas DataFrame using the primary keyword(s): pandas DataFrame, list(), sorted(), and select_dtypes().
Method 1: Get All Column Names
The first method is getting all column names of a Pandas DataFrame. This method is straightforward and useful when you want to inspect the columns of a DataFrame.
To get all column names in a DataFrame, you can use the .columns
attribute of a DataFrame, like this:
import pandas as pd
data = {
'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'],
'age': [25, 32, 18],
'gender': ['F', 'M', 'M']
}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)
cols = df.columns.tolist()
print(cols)
Output:
['name', 'age', 'gender']
Here, we first created a DataFrame with three columns, ‘name’, ‘age’, and ‘gender’. Then, we used the .columns
attribute to get the names of all the columns of the DataFrame and converted it to a Python list using the .tolist()
method.
Finally, we printed the result using the print()
function.
Method 2: Get Column Names in Alphabetical Order
Sometimes, you may want to sort the column names of a DataFrame in alphabetical order.
This method is useful when you want to compare two DataFrames or when you want to slice columns in a specific order. To get the column names in alphabetical order, you can use the sorted()
function, like this:
import pandas as pd
data = {
'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'],
'age': [25, 32, 18],
'gender': ['F', 'M', 'M']
}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)
cols_sorted = sorted(df.columns.tolist())
print(cols_sorted)
Output:
['age', 'gender', 'name']
Here, we first created a DataFrame with three columns, ‘name’, ‘age’, and ‘gender’. Then, we used the sorted()
function to sort the column names in alphabetical order and converted it to a Python list using the .tolist()
method.
Finally, we printed the result using the print()
function.
Method 3: Get Column Names with Specific Data Type
Sometimes, you may want to get only the column names of a specific data type in a DataFrame.
This method is useful when you want to inspect the data type of each column or when you want to manipulate columns with a specific data type. To get the column names with a specific data type, you can use the select_dtypes()
method of a DataFrame, like this:
import pandas as pd
data = {
'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'],
'age': [25, 32, 18],
'gender': ['F', 'M', 'M']
}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)
cols_num = df.select_dtypes(include=['number']).columns.tolist()
print(cols_num)
Output:
['age']
Here, we first created a DataFrame with three columns, ‘name’, ‘age’, and ‘gender’. Then, we used the select_dtypes()
method and passed the ‘number’ keyword argument to the include
parameter to get the column names with a numerical data type.
Finally, we converted it to a Python list using the .tolist()
method and printed the result using the print()
function.
Conclusion
In this article, we have discussed three methods of getting column names in a Pandas DataFrame, namely getting all column names, getting column names in alphabetical order, and getting column names with a specific data type. These methods are useful in manipulating data in Pandas and can help you inspect columns, compare DataFrames, or manipulate columns with a specific data type.
Try these methods the next time you work with Pandas DataFrames, and they can save you time and effort in manipulating data.
Getting Column Names: In-Depth
In the previous article, we covered three methods of getting column names in a Pandas DataFrame.
Now, we will explore two of these methods in more detail, namely getting column names in alphabetical order and getting column names with a specific data type. We will also provide examples that demonstrate the application of these methods in real-life scenarios.
Example 2: Getting Column Names in Alphabetical Order
Sorting column names in alphabetical order is useful when you are working with data that has many columns, and you want to organize the columns in a particular order. By default, the columns of a Pandas DataFrame are organized in the order they were created.
However, in some cases, you may want to arrange them differently. For instance, suppose you have a DataFrame containing data from different financial markets.
Each column represents the closing price of a different stock or financial instrument. To analyze the data effectively, you may want to sort the columns in alphabetical order to group stocks from the same market together and make the analysis easier.
To sort column names in alphabetical order, you can use the sorted()
function with the reverse=True
parameter to sort the columns in descending order, like this:
import pandas as pd
data = {
'AAPL_close': [128.8, 130.48, 129.02],
'GOOG_close': [2104.11, 2095.38, 2121.9],
'TSLA_close': [704.74, 701.98, 729.4],
'MSFT_close': [247.79, 242.97, 238.93],
}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)
cols_sorted = sorted(df.columns.tolist(), reverse=True)
print(cols_sorted)
Output:
['TSLA_close', 'MSFT_close', 'GOOG_close', 'AAPL_close']
Here, we created a DataFrame containing columns of closing prices of different stocks. Then, we used the sorted()
function with the reverse=True
parameter to sort the column names in alphabetical order in descending order.
Finally, we printed the result using the print()
function.
Example 3: Getting Column Names with Specific Data Type
Working with data having different data types can be daunting, especially when you are handling numerical data.
In a DataFrame with many columns, identifying the columns with numerical data types can be challenging. For example, suppose you have a DataFrame containing customer data, including their age, gender, and address.
To perform analysis on the ages of your customers, you need to select the ‘age’ column of the DataFrame. However, if the DataFrame has many columns, it can be hard to identify the ‘age’ column.
To get the column names with a specific data type, you can use the .select_dtypes()
method of a DataFrame. The select_dtypes()
method allows you to filter columns based on their data types.
For instance, let’s use the same DataFrame we used above. To get the age column, we can do the following:
import pandas as pd
data = {
'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'],
'age': [25, 32, 18],
'gender': ['F', 'M', 'M']
}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)
cols_age = df.select_dtypes(include=['int64']).columns.tolist()
print(cols_age)
Output:
['age']
In this example, we first created a DataFrame with three columns, namely ‘name’, ‘age’, and ‘gender.’ Then, we used the select_dtypes()
method to filter the ‘age’ column based on its data type, which is an integer. We passed the ‘int64’ keyword argument to the include
parameter to include only columns of integer data type.
Finally, we converted the result to a list using the .tolist()
method and printed the output using the print()
function.
Conclusion
In this article, we have explored two methods of getting column names in a Pandas DataFrame in more detail: getting column names in alphabetical order and getting column names with a specific data type. We also provided examples that demonstrate the application of these methods in real-life scenarios.
These methods can help you organize your data and select the necessary columns for data analysis. By mastering these techniques, you can become more proficient in data analysis using Pandas.
Pandas DataFrame: Resources
In this article, we have covered three methods of getting column names in a Pandas DataFrame: getting all column names, getting column names in alphabetical order, and getting column names with a specific data type.
In this section, we will provide additional resources that can help you learn more about the Pandas DataFrame, its attributes, and its methods.
Pandas DataFrame documentation
The official documentation is the best resource for learning how to use the Pandas DataFrame. The documentation provides a comprehensive guide to different Pandas functions, modules, and classes, including the DataFrame.
The documentation takes you through the various attributes, methods, and functionalities of the DataFrame. In addition, the documentation provides examples that demonstrate the application of the DataFrame in real-life scenarios.
Online courses
Online courses are another great way to learn Pandas and the DataFrame. Several platforms offer online courses that teach beginners how to use Pandas and the DataFrame effectively.
These courses are usually delivered through a combination of video lectures, exercises, and quizzes. Some popular platforms that offer Pandas and DataFrame courses include Coursera, Udacity, and DataCamp.
Books
Books are another resource for learning about the Pandas DataFrame. Several books cover Pandas and the DataFrame, and they are an excellent resource for beginners learning Pandas for the first time.
Some popular Pandas and DataFrame books include “Python for Data Analysis” by Wes Mckinney, “Pandas Cookbook” by Theodore Petrou, and “Python Data Science Handbook” by Jake VanderPlas.
Online Forums
Online forums such as StackOverflow, Reddit, and Quora are also great resources for learning about Pandas and the DataFrame. These forums are usually populated by developers with different levels of expertise who can provide answers to various Pandas and DataFrame-related questions.
These forums are also a great way to learn from the experiences of others and troubleshoot issues you may be facing while working with Pandas and the DataFrame.
Conclusion
In this article, we have provided additional resources that can help you learn more about the Pandas DataFrame. The Pandas DataFrame is a powerful tool that provides a wide range of features that make data analysis efficient and straightforward.
By mastering the DataFrame, you can become more proficient in data analysis and machine learning with Python. We hope this article provides you with the necessary resources to get started and level up your skills.
In this article, we have explored three methods of getting column names in a Pandas DataFrame. These methods include getting all column names, getting column names in alphabetical order, and getting column names with a specific data type.
We have provided examples that demonstrate the application of these methods in real-life scenarios. Overall, mastering these techniques can significantly improve your efficiency in data analysis using Pandas.
Additional resources such as documentation, online courses, books, and online forums can provide further insight into the Pandas DataFrame’s functionalities. The takeaway is that learning the Pandas DataFrame is a valuable skill for data analysts, data scientists, and machine learning engineers.