index.md

Welcome to our hands-on Python programming course, designed specifically for the business world! In this course, we'll start by diving into the basics of Python, using the user-friendly Google Colab platform. Don’t worry if you’re new to programming— we’ll guide you step by step.

As the semester unfolds, we’ll explore how Python can be a powerful tool in data science. You’ll learn to wrangle and transform data, turning complex information into insights that are not just useful but also easy to manage and understand. Get ready to tackle real-world tasks and boost your ability to make smart business decisions with your new programming skills!

Class Information

• Instructor: Zhaohu (Jonathan) Fan, Ph.D.

• Office Information: Scheller 4144 (Scheller College of Business, Room 4144)

• Email: [email protected]

• Office Hours: Tuesdays 3:30-4:30 pm & Thursdays 12:45-1:45 pm and by appointment

• Teaching assistant: Ms.Haofei Qin

• Email: [email protected]

• Office Hours: Wednesdays 7:00-8:00 pm (via Zoom https://gatech.zoom.us/j/2752373127; Meeting ID: 275 237 3127)

Communication Policy: Students are encouraged to contact me anytime via email or phone. Please use email as the primary mode of contact. A response will be given within 36-48 hours. Please understand that I cannot guarantee an immediate response if you contact me very close to an assignment deadline.

• Cohort from 2023 Fall
  • Course Project
  • Selected Projects
    • Hotel Bookings Data Analysis
      • Casey Murphy
      • Elaine Wen
    • Petfinder.com Dog Data Analysis
    • NFL Attendance Data Analysis
    • Spotify Genre Data Analysis
      • Kevin Dong
      • Nekha Duraisamy and Geethika Thota
    • Crime Analytics & Intelligence
      • Jason Warner and Charles Hill

Schedule (Lecture and Lab Notes)

Week	Description
1	Introduction to Course Project
	Intro to Python, project demo, and course outline
2	Basic Python
	Basic Python
3	Course Project
	Mastering Python's Built-in Debugging Tools: From Basic Syntax Errors to Advanced Exception Handling
4	Navigating Python's Control Flow: Crafting Logic with Conditionals and Loops
	Mastering Lists in Python
5	Crafting Modular Python: The Art and Science of Function Design
	Navigating Time and Date in Python: From Basic Timestamps to Advanced Time Zone Manipulations
6	Deciphering Text Patterns with Python: Demystifying Regular Expressions
	Deciphering Text Patterns with Python: Demystifying Regular Expressions-II
7	Deciphering Text Patterns with Python: Demystifying Regular Expressions-III
	Harnessing Python's Core Collections: Dive Deep into Lists and Dictionaries
	Harnessing Python's Core Collections: Dive Deep into Lists and Dictionaries-II
8	Harnessing Python's Core Collections: Dive Deep into Lists and Dictionaries-III
	Object-Oriented Python: Unraveling the Power of Classes and Objects
	Midterm Preparation Guide
9	Introduction to Course Project
	Leveraging the Pandas to conduct data exploration
10	Data Visualizations
	Data visualization basics
11	Data Visualizations
	Data visualization advanced
12	Creating Online Dashboard
	Create dashboards that you can share with your colleague or client
13	Efficient Coding in Python

References:

• Python Data Science Handbook by Jake VanderPlas
• A Whirlwind Tour of Python by Jake VanderPlas
• Spark: The Definitive Guide, 2018 by Matei Zaharia, Bill Chambers.
• An Introduction to Statistical Learning by Gareth James, Daniela Witten, Trevor Hastie, and Robert Tibshirani.

Book:

• A Whirlwind Tour of Python
• Python Data Science Handbook
• Python Tricks
• Learning Python
• Effective Python

Others:

• Make an interactive Power BI dashboard from scratch in 15 minutes. (Power BI for Business Analytics)