Skip to main content

Course

Introduction to Importing Data in Python

Beginner

4.7+

Updated 03/2025

Learn to import data into Python from various sources, such as Excel, SQL, SAS and right from the web.

Start Course for Free

Included withPremium or Teams

PythonData Preparation3 hours15 videos50 Exercises3,900 XP306,483Statement of Accomplishment

Create Your Free Account

or

By continuing, you accept our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy and that your data is stored in the USA.

Training 2 or more people?

Try DataCamp for Business

Loved by learners at thousands of companies

Course Description

As a data scientist, you will need to clean data, wrangle and munge it, visualize it, build predictive models, and interpret these models. Before you can do so, however, you will need to know how to get data into Python. In this course, you'll learn the many ways to import data into Python: from flat files such as .txt and .csv; from files native to other software such as Excel spreadsheets, Stata, SAS, and MATLAB files; and from relational databases such as SQLite and PostgreSQL.

Prerequisites

Intermediate Python

1

Introduction and flat files

Welcome to the course!

Importing entire text files

Importing text files line by line

The importance of flat files in data science

Pop quiz: what exactly are flat files?

Why we like flat files and the Zen of Python

Importing flat files using NumPy

Using NumPy to import flat files

Customizing your NumPy import

Importing different datatypes

Importing flat files using pandas

Using pandas to import flat files as DataFrames (1)

Using pandas to import flat files as DataFrames (2)

Customizing your pandas import

Final thoughts on data import

2

Importing data from other file types

Introduction to other file types

Not so flat any more

Loading a pickled file

Listing sheets in Excel files

Importing sheets from Excel files

Customizing your spreadsheet import

Importing SAS/Stata files using pandas

How to import SAS7BDAT

Importing SAS files

Using read_stata to import Stata files

Importing Stata files

Importing HDF5 files

Using File to import HDF5 files

Using h5py to import HDF5 files

Extracting data from your HDF5 file

Importing MATLAB files

Loading .mat files

The structure of .mat in Python

3

Working with relational databases in Python

Introduction to relational databases

Pop quiz: The relational model

Creating a database engine in Python

Creating a database engine

What are the tables in the database?

Querying relational databases in Python

The Hello World of SQL Queries!

Customizing the Hello World of SQL Queries

Filtering your database records using SQL's WHERE

Ordering your SQL records with ORDER BY

Querying relational databases directly with pandas

Pandas and The Hello World of SQL Queries!

Pandas for more complex querying

Advanced querying: exploiting table relationships

The power of SQL lies in relationships between tables: INNER JOIN

Filtering your INNER JOIN

Final Thoughts

Introduction to Importing Data in Python

Course
Complete

Earn Statement of Accomplishment

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV
Share it on social media and in your performance review

Included withPremium or Teams

Don’t just take our word for it

*4.7

from 189 reviews

79%

19%

2%

0%

0%

Highest to Lowest
Lowest to Highest
Most recent
Top reviews

Joe

about 18 hours

Sahaya Princelin Gisha

about 24 hours

Abhijit

1 day

Eric

1 day

Alexandra

about 20 hours

maybe it would be better to actually create those file types also, not just read them. People might not be able to visualise structure of the data

Peter

1 day

Joe

Sahaya Princelin Gisha

Abhijit

FAQs

Join over 16 million learners and start Introduction to Importing Data in Python today!

Create Your Free Account

or

By continuing, you accept our Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy and that your data is stored in the USA.