Importing a file to Python is important to learning how to manage datasets. In this chapter we examine the basics. We can import many types of data to Python: from the most canonical format (.csv) or Excel data formats, to text formats for text mining, and to binary files such as images, video and audio. First, let’s look at some basic ways to import files. Sometimes the process for doing so may seem a bit tricky. The pandas package, which we examine in Chapter 8, makes importing datasets for analysis much easier.
The basic structure for importing files is as follows:
