Hands-On Predictive Analytics with Python

Abstract

Predictive analytics is one of the most important technologies of our time. Every day, companies in all industries and all types of institutions are using predictive techniques to solve a wide range of problems. Although many of the main ideas and techniques have been around for many decades, the use of predictive analytics has exploded recently due to the increased ability to capture and store data, which is the raw material from which we build predictive models. There are two other big factors that explain the increasing adoption of this technology: the first is the astonishing increase in computing power, and the second is the availability of many open source software projects that have given access to professionals outside academia to many of the most powerful predictive analytics techniques. The Python programming language and its ecosystem of analytical libraries, also known as Python's data science stack, is such a project and has democratized the use of advanced analytical techniques.