Google have created a tool to make it easier to discover datasets—Google Dataset Search. One potential downside is that it requires dataset owners to provide metadata. While the Google brand means that this might get some traction, not all dataset owners are motivated to help the cause. Publication of datasets is now mandated by some […]
Jupyter Notebooks—love ’em or hate ’em?
Jupyter Notebooks are popular with data scientists. Microsoft even offers a free, hosted, “no-install” service for Python, R and F#. However, there are some downsides to notebooks—mostly to do with software engineering best practices. Joel Grus gave a provocative talk at JupyterCon 2018 entitled “I Don’t Like Notebooks”. Yihui Xie then followed up with a […]
Python tops programming language list
Python has topped the IEEE Spectrum list of top programming languages again this year—extending its lead in the process. The sources used to compiled the list cover contexts that include social chatter, open-source code production, and job postings. Obviously that list of sources isn’t an accurate reflection of what developers are doing day-to-day in organisations. […]
How does data science make you faster, smarter, cooler or richer?
In a recent interview, Cameron Davies, head of corporate decision sciences for NBCUniversal, discussed the importance of data science being led by the needs of the business. He discussed “data culture” and the tendency for data scientists to focus on the technology while losing sight of the wider context. Davies points out that decision-makers want […]
Python in the Economist
The Economist has an article devoted to the popularity of the Python programming language. Citibank, Bain & Company and Boston Consulting Group are using it for their data science work. As Guido Van Rossum, the inventor of Python, reportedly said Python has become the language of choice for AI researchers […]