DataFrame Operations

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Overview

DataFrame operations form the foundation of pandas work. This reference covers indexing, selection, filtering, and sorting with pandas 2.0+ best practices.

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Indexing and Selection

Label-Based Selection with .loc[]

Use .loc[] for label-based indexing. Always preferred over chained indexing.

# Sample DataFrame
df = pd.DataFrame({
    'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie', 'Diana'],
    'age': [25, 30, 35, 28],
    'salary': [50000, 60000, 70000, 55000],
    'department': ['Engineering', 'Sales', 'Engineering', 'Marketing']
}, index=['a', 'b', 'c', 'd'])

# Single value
value = df.loc['a', 'name']  # 'Alice'

# Single row (returns Series)
row = df.loc['a']

# Multiple rows
rows = df.loc[['a', 'c']]

# Row and column slices (inclusive on both ends)
subset = df.loc['a':'c', 'name':'salary']

# Boolean indexing with .loc
adults = df.loc[df['age'] >= 30]

# Boolean indexing with column selection
adults_names = df.loc[df['age'] >= 30, 'name']

# Multiple conditions
engineering_seniors = df.loc[
    (df['department'] == 'Engineering') & (df['age'] >= 30),
    ['name', 'salary']
]

Position-Based Selection with .iloc[]

Use .iloc[] for integer position-based indexing.

# Single value by position
value = df.iloc[0, 0]  # First row, first column

# Single row by position
first_row = df.iloc[0]

# Slice rows (exclusive end, like Python)
first_three = df.iloc[:3]

# Specific rows and columns by position
subset = df.iloc[[0, 2], [0, 2]]  # Rows 0,2 and columns 0,2

# Range selection
block = df.iloc[1:3, 0:2]  # Rows 1-2, columns 0-1

When to Use .loc[] vs .iloc[]

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Filtering DataFrames

Boolean Masks

# Single condition
mask = df['age'] > 25
filtered = df[mask]

# Multiple conditions (use parentheses!)
mask = (df['age'] > 25) & (df['salary'] < 65000)
filtered = df[mask]

# OR conditions
mask = (df['department'] == 'Engineering') | (df['department'] == 'Sales')
filtered = df[mask]

# NOT condition
mask = ~(df['department'] == 'Marketing')
filtered = df[mask]

Using .query() for Readable Filters

# Simple query - more readable for complex conditions
result = df.query('age > 25 and salary < 65000')

# Using variables with @
min_age = 25
result = df.query('age > @min_age')

# String comparisons
result = df.query('department == "Engineering"')

# In-list filtering
depts = ['Engineering', 'Sales']
result = df.query('department in @depts')

# Complex expressions
result = df.query('(age > 25) and (department != "Marketing")')

Using .isin() for Multiple Values

# Filter by multiple values
departments = ['Engineering', 'Sales']
filtered = df[df['department'].isin(departments)]

# Negation
filtered = df[~df['department'].isin(departments)]

# Multiple columns
conditions = {
    'department': ['Engineering', 'Sales'],
    'age': [25, 30, 35]
}
# Filter where department is in list AND age is in list
mask = df['department'].isin(conditions['department']) & df['age'].isin(conditions['age'])

String Filtering with .str Accessor

df = pd.DataFrame({
    'email': ['alice@example.com', 'bob@test.org', 'charlie@example.com'],
    'name': ['Alice Smith', 'Bob Jones', 'Charlie Brown']
})

# Contains
mask = df['email'].str.contains('example')

# Starts/ends with
mask = df['email'].str.endswith('.com')
mask = df['name'].str.startswith('A')

# Regex matching
mask = df['email'].str.match(r'^[a-z]+@example\\.com$')

# Case-insensitive
mask = df['name'].str.lower().str.contains('alice')
# Or with case parameter
mask = df['name'].str.contains('alice', case=False)

# Handle NaN in string columns
mask = df['email'].str.contains('example', na=False)

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Sorting

Basic Sorting

# Sort by single column (ascending)
sorted_df = df.sort_values('age')

# Sort descending
sorted_df = df.sort_values('age', ascending=False)

# Sort by multiple columns
sorted_df = df.sort_values(['department', 'salary'], ascending=[True, False])

# Sort by index
sorted_df = df.sort_index()
sorted_df = df.sort_index(ascending=False)

Advanced Sorting

# Sort with NaN handling
df_with_nan = pd.DataFrame({
    'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'],
    'score': [85.0, np.nan, 90.0]
})

# NaN at end (default)
sorted_df = df_with_nan.sort_values('score', na_position='last')

# NaN at beginning
sorted_df = df_with_nan.sort_values('score', na_position='first')

# Custom sort order using Categorical
order = ['Marketing', 'Sales', 'Engineering']
df['department'] = pd.Categorical(df['department'], categories=order, ordered=True)
sorted_df = df.sort_values('department')

# Sort by computed values without adding column
sorted_df = df.iloc[df['name'].str.len().argsort()]

In-Place Sorting

# Modify DataFrame in place
df.sort_values('age', inplace=True)

# Reset index after sorting
df.sort_values('age', inplace=True)
df.reset_index(drop=True, inplace=True)

# Or chain
df = df.sort_values('age').reset_index(drop=True)

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Column Operations

Adding and Modifying Columns

# Add new column
df['bonus'] = df['salary'] * 0.1

# Conditional column with np.where
df['seniority'] = np.where(df['age'] >= 30, 'Senior', 'Junior')

# Multiple conditions with np.select
conditions = [
    df['age'] < 25,
    df['age'] < 35,
    df['age'] >= 35
]
choices = ['Junior', 'Mid', 'Senior']
df['level'] = np.select(conditions, choices, default='Unknown')

# Using .assign() for method chaining (returns new DataFrame)
df_new = df.assign(
    bonus=lambda x: x['salary'] * 0.1,
    total_comp=lambda x: x['salary'] + x['salary'] * 0.1
)

Renaming Columns

# Rename specific columns
df = df.rename(columns={'name': 'full_name', 'age': 'years'})

# Rename all columns with function
df.columns = df.columns.str.lower().str.replace(' ', '_')

# Using rename with function
df = df.rename(columns=str.upper)

Dropping Columns

# Drop single column
df = df.drop('bonus', axis=1)
# Or
df = df.drop(columns=['bonus'])

# Drop multiple columns
df = df.drop(columns=['bonus', 'level'])

# Drop columns by condition
cols_to_drop = [col for col in df.columns if col.startswith('temp_')]
df = df.drop(columns=cols_to_drop)

Reordering Columns

# Explicit order
new_order = ['name', 'department', 'age', 'salary']
df = df[new_order]

# Move specific column to front
cols = ['salary'] + [c for c in df.columns if c != 'salary']
df = df[cols]

# Using .reindex()
df = df.reindex(columns=['name', 'age', 'salary', 'department'])

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Index Operations

Setting and Resetting Index

# Set column as index
df = df.set_index('name')

# Reset index back to column
df = df.reset_index()

# Drop index completely
df = df.reset_index(drop=True)

# Set multiple columns as index (MultiIndex)
df = df.set_index(['department', 'name'])

Working with MultiIndex

# Create MultiIndex DataFrame
df = pd.DataFrame({
    'department': ['Eng', 'Eng', 'Sales', 'Sales'],
    'team': ['Backend', 'Frontend', 'East', 'West'],
    'headcount': [10, 8, 15, 12]
}).set_index(['department', 'team'])

# Select from MultiIndex
df.loc['Eng']  # All Eng rows
df.loc[('Eng', 'Backend')]  # Specific row

# Cross-section with .xs()
df.xs('Backend', level='team')  # All Backend teams

# Reset specific level
df.reset_index(level='team')

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Copying DataFrames

When to Use .copy()

# ALWAYS copy when modifying a subset
subset = df[df['age'] > 25].copy()
subset['new_col'] = 100  # Safe, no SettingWithCopyWarning

# Without copy - may raise warning or fail silently
# BAD:
# subset = df[df['age'] > 25]
# subset['new_col'] = 100  # SettingWithCopyWarning!

# Deep copy (default) - copies data
df_copy = df.copy()  # or df.copy(deep=True)

# Shallow copy - shares data, only copies structure
df_shallow = df.copy(deep=False)

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Best Practices Summary

1. Use .loc[] and .iloc[] - Never use chained indexing
2. Parenthesize conditions - (cond1) & (cond2) not cond1 & cond2
3. Use .query() for readability - Especially with complex filters
4. Copy before modifying subsets - Always use .copy()
5. Use vectorized operations - Avoid row iteration for filtering
6. Handle NaN explicitly - Use na=False in string operations
7. Prefer method chaining - Use .assign() for column creation

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Anti-Patterns to Avoid

# BAD: Chained indexing
df['A']['B'] = value  # May not work, raises warning

# GOOD: Use .loc
df.loc[:, ('A', 'B')] = value
# Or for row selection then assignment:
df.loc[df['A'] > 0, 'B'] = value

# BAD: Iterating for filtering
result = []
for idx, row in df.iterrows():
    if row['age'] > 25:
        result.append(row)

# GOOD: Boolean indexing
result = df[df['age'] > 25]

# BAD: Multiple separate assignments
df = df[df['age'] > 25]
df = df[df['salary'] > 50000]

# GOOD: Combined filter
df = df[(df['age'] > 25) & (df['salary'] > 50000)]

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Related References

• data-cleaning.md - After selection, clean the data
• aggregation-groupby.md - Group and aggregate filtered data
• performance-optimization.md - Optimize filtering on large datasets