7/18/2019 Python Functions | DataCamp

INTERACTIVE COURSE

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(Part 1) or

Learn the art of writing your own functions in

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Python, as well as key concepts like scoping and
error handling.
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3 hours 12 Videos 46 Exercises
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Course Description
It's now time to push forward and develop your Python chops even further. There are lots
and lots of fantastic functions in Python and its library ecosystem. However, as a Data
Scientist, you'll constantly need to write your own functions to solve problems that are
dictated by your data. The art of function writing is what you'll learn in this first Python
Data Science toolbox course. You'll come out of this course being able to write your very
own custom functions, complete with multiple parameters and multiple return values, along
with default arguments and variable-length arguments. You'll gain insight into scoping in
Python and be able to write lambda functions and handle errors in your very own function
writing practice. On top of this, you'll wrap up each Chapter by diving into using your
acquired skills to write functions that analyze twitter DataFrames and are generalizable to
broader Data Science contexts.

1 Writing your own functions FREE

Here you will learn how to write your very own functions. In this Chapter, you'll learn
how to write simple functions, as well as functions that accept multiple arguments and
return multiple values. You'll also have the opportunity to apply these newfound skills to
questions that commonly arise in Data Science contexts.

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Default arguments, variable-length arguments and scope

In this chapter, you'll learn to write functions with default arguments, so that the user
doesn't always need to specify them, and variable-length arguments, so that they can
pass to your functions an arbitrary number of arguments. These are both incredibly
useful tools! You'll also learn about the essential concept of scope. Enjoy!

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Lambda functions and error-handling

Herein, you'll learn about lambda functions, which allow you to write functions quickly
and on-the- y. You'll also get practice at handling errors that your functions, at some
point, will inevitably throw. You'll wrap up once again applying these skills to Data
Science questions.

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Ronald Bowers
Decision Science Analytics @ USAA

Hugo Bowne-Anderson
Data Scientist at DataCamp

Hugo is a data scientist, educator, writer and podcaster and DataCamp. His main interests
are promoting data & AI literacy, helping to spread data skills through organizations and
society and doing amateur stand up comedy in NYC. If you want to know what he likes to
talk about, de nitely check out DataFramed, the DataCamp podcast, which he hosts and
produces: https://www.datacamp.com/community/podcast

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Data Analyst with Python

Data Scientist with Python

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Python Programming

COLLABORATORS

Francisco Castro

PREREQUISITES

Introduction to Python

Intermediate Python for Data Science

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