Posts

Pandas Is Changing: Powerful Upgrades Data Science Professionals Should Know About

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Summary : Pandas has evolved significantly in recent versions, bringing major improvements in performance, safety, and usability. This blog post highlights important upgrades that can help you write faster, cleaner, and more reliable data analysis code. Introduction: Pandas Is Evolving Fast For more than a decade, Pandas has been the go-to library for data manipulation in Python. Most of us have built strong habits around DataFrames, along with workarounds for a few long-standing quirks. If you are new to Pandas, view the Pandas Tutorial video below. Learn Pandas using the Pandas Playbook (datasets and Python code designed for data analysts and ML engineers, from Beginner to Intermediate, to master essential Pandas operations). What many developers do not realize is that some of those old frustrations are now being actively removed. With version 2.0 and beyond, Pandas has introduced deeper architectural improvements that change how it handles memory, performance, a...

You Do Not Really Know NumPy Until You Understand These Core Truths

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Summary : NumPy is the foundation of Python’s data science ecosystem, yet many Data Scientists and ML Engineers use it without understanding what makes it so powerful. This blog post explains core truths about NumPy that reveal why it is fast, memory-efficient, and essential for serious data work. Introduction: The Bedrock of Python Data Science If you work with data in Python, you have almost certainly used libraries like Pandas, Scikit-Learn, or TensorFlow. These tools power everything from data cleaning to machine learning. But have you ever stopped to think about what makes them so fast and efficient? At the foundation of this entire ecosystem is NumPy. Short for Numerical Python, NumPy is not just another library. It is the core engine that turned Python into a serious language for scientific computing. First view the NumPy tutorial for beginners. Then, read on. If you strip away the higher-level tools, you eventually reach NumPy. Understanding how it works chan...

5 Hard-Won Lessons About Fine-Tuning Large Language Models (LLMs)

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Summary : Fine-tuning Large Language Models (LLMs) is often misunderstood as a guaranteed path to better performance. In reality, it is a strategic, data-driven, and operational process. My blog post gives five practical lessons learned from real-world fine-tuning client-facing projects, helping you decide when to fine-tune, how to do it efficiently, and what it truly takes to run fine-tuned models in production. First, view my Fine Tuning LLMs video below and then read on. Introduction Fine-tuning is widely seen as the ultimate way to customize a Large Language Model. The common belief is simple: if you want an LLM to excel at a specific task or domain, fine-tuning is the answer. You take a powerful general-purpose model and turn it into a focused specialist. In practice, fine-tuning is far more nuanced. It comes with hidden trade-offs, unexpected risks, and operational responsibilities that are easy to underestimate. Moving from a base model to a production-ready, fine...