I’m trying to learn how to analyze some data and create visualizations. The first Udemy course I started uses Excel and I didn’t want to spend learning how to use spreadsheets*, so I tried to follow the course in Python. I got a bit frustrated by the way some matplotlib charts are created, so I decided to try it in R. (It might not be matplotlib — I just don’t know what I’m doing. )
*I got into programming with VBA in Excel, but it has been a long time and I don’t remember much. Spreadsheets are error prone, so I figured if I’m going to learn something new, it should be something that I’ll actually use afterwards.
Oh, I see. Yeah, I would have done the same as you. I use Matplotlib pretty often, but unless I’m doing a very simple plot, I always have to look up an example and try to copy that. It kind of reminds me of plain TeX in that it can do just about anything you can think of but it’s not exactly user friendly if you want to do something beyond the basics.
I think there have been many attempts to come up with easier ways to visualize data in the Python world (as noted in this talk: https://youtu.be/FytuB8nFHPQ )
I’m even more ignorant about plotting with R. I’ve done some stuff before but not much. I’d really like to learn R better.
So, if you come across any good resources in any of this stuff, I’d be glad to hear about them.
Thanks, I just clicked around in that video and saw Bokeh, so I might try that.
I took a Coursera course on R a few years ago, but I don’t remember much. I’ve just been typing queries into Google so far. The docs are good, and there are code examples on this site:
Oh, I have that book too. I started it, but haven’t finished it. Actually finishing reading it at least (not sure I will do (m)any exercises) is one of my 2021 resolutions.