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R to Python: Data wrangling with dplyr and pandas

R to python data wrangling snippets

The dplyr package in R makes data wrangling significantly easier. The beauty of dplyr is that, by design, the options available are limited. Specifically, a set of key verbs form the core of the package. Using these verbs you can solve a wide range of data problems effectively in a shorter timeframe. Whilse transitioning to Python I have greatly missed the ease with which I can think through and solve problems using dplyr in R. The purpose of this document is to demonstrate how to execute the key dplyr verbs when manipulating data using Python (with the pandas package).

dplyr is organised around six key verbs:


  • filter : subset a dataframe according to condition(s) in a variable(s)
  • select : choose a specific variable or set of variables
  • arrange : order dataframe by index or variable
  • group_by : create a grouped dataframe
  • summarise : reduce variable to summary variable (e.g. mean)
  • mutate : transform dataframe by adding new variables

The excellent pandas package in Python easily allows you to implement all of these actions (and much, much more!). Below are some snippets to highlight some of the more basic conversions.

@Conormacd

June 8th 2018 update: All of this code still works in pandas and should ease the transition from R, but for those interested in getting the most out of the package I strongly recommend this series on modern pandas https://tomaugspurger.github.io/modern-1-intro.html

Filter

R

filter(df, var > 20000 & var < 30000) 
filter(df, var == 'string') # df %>% filter(var != 'string')
df %>% filter(var != 'string')
df %>% group_by(group) %>% filter(sum(var) > 2000000)

Python

df[(df['var'] > 20000) & (df['var'] < 30000)]
df[df['var'] == 'string']
df[df['var'] != 'string']
df.groupby('group').filter(lambda x: sum(x['var']) > 2000000)

Select

R

select(df, var1, var2)
select(df, -var3)

Python

df[['var1', 'var2']]
df.drop('var3', 1)

Arrange

R

arrange(df, var1)
arrange(df, desc(var1))

Python

df.sort_values('var1')
df.sort_values('var1', ascending=False)

Grouping

R

df %>% group_by(group) 
df %>% group_by(group1, group2)
df %>% ungroup()

Python

df.groupby('group1')
df.groupby(['group1', 'group2'])
df.reset_index() / or when grouping: df.groupby('group1', as_index=False)

Summarise / Aggregate df by group

R

df %>% group_by(group) %>% summarise(mean_var1 = mean(var1))
df %>% 
  group_by(group1, group2) %>% 
  summarise(mean_var1 = mean(var1), 
            sum_var1 = sum(var1), 
            count_var1 = n())
                                              
df %>% 
  group_by(group1, group2) %>% 
  summarise(mean_var1 = mean(var1),
            sum_2 = sum(var2),
            var3 = first(var3))

Python

df.groupby('group1')['var1'].agg({'mean_col' : np.mean()}) # pass dict to specifiy column name

df.groupby(['group1', 'group2'])['var1].agg(['mean', 'sum', 'count']) # for count also consider 'size'. size will return n for NaN values also, whereas 'count' will not.

# first perform the aggregation
group_agg = df.groupby(["group1", "group2"]).agg({
  "var1" : ["mean"], 
  "var2" : ["sum"], 
  "var3" : ["first"]
  })
# second rename the columns by joining the column name with the agg function (e.g. "var1_mean")
group_agg.columns = ["_".join(x) for x in group_agg.columns.ravel()]

# You can also pass multiple functions to aggregate the same column e.g:
group_agg = df.groupby(["group1", "group2"]).agg({"var1" : ["mean", "std", "sum"]})

Mutate / transform df by group

R

df %>% group_by(group) %>% mutate(mean_var1 = mean(var1))

Python

df.groupby('group').assign(mean_var1 = lambda x: np.mean(x.var1)

Distinct

R

df %>% distinct()
df %>% distinct(col1) # returns dataframe with unique values of col1

Python

df.drop_duplicates()
df.drop_duplicates(subset='col1') # returns dataframe with unique values of col1

Sample

R

sample_n(df, 100)
sample_frac(df, 0.5)

Python

df.sample(100)
df.sample(frac=0.5)       
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