Blueprints for Text Analytics Using Python

Preface

The written word is a powerful thing. The ancient Sumerians invented the first written language, and the introduction of the Gutenberg press allowed the written word to spread knowledge and enlightenment across the world. Language is in fact so important to human thinking that anthropologists claim that our ability for complex reasoning evolved at the same time that we developed language. Language represented in the form of text captures most of human thought, deeds, and actions, and our life is increasingly dominated by it. We communicate with colleagues through emails, with friends and family via messengers, and with others who share our passions using social media tools. Leaders inspire huge populations through speeches (and tweets) that are recorded as text, leading researchers communicate their findings via published research papers, and companies communicate their health through quarterly reports. Even this book uses text to spread knowledge. Analyzing and understanding text gives us the ability to gain knowledge and make decisions. Text analytics is about writing computer programs that can analyze vast amounts of information available in the form of text. Before making a product purchase or visiting a restaurant, we read customer reviews. A company could then use the same reviews to improve their product or service. A publisher could analyze discussions on the internet to estimate the demand for a certain programming language before commissioning a book on it.