An Introduction

Programming

Programming is the process of designing and building a computer program to accomplish many tasks. Some examples include analyzing data, generating algorithms, implementing rules and validations, and much more!

Python

Python is a programming language that was written by Guido van Rossum in the 1990s. This language initially became so popular because it was free and open-sourced, meaning anyone can use it. Python is now one of the most on-demand languages to learn as it is very readable to the user. By 2018, over 8 million people started programming in Python and there’s been a steady 8-10% increase in usership year-over-year. This language is great for beginners and is widely used by many professionals in both research and industry, so it will be powerful to have in your analytics tool belt.

The best way to learn this language is to dive right into a project. The following sections in this book contain HR-related examples and walkthroughs on how to use this powerful programming language to your advantage.

Libraries

Programming languages have libraries that act as a collection of code that has been stored together in one single file. Using the designated code ‘unlocks’ your access to that library, which in turn allows you to do some pretty powerful computing. To start writing Python code, you will need to do your research on which libraries you need for your analysis. For now, we will begin with the Pandas library.