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Jupyter Notebooks for Data Analysis

Use Jupyter Notebook effectively — the standard environment for data analysis in Python

Jupyter Notebook is the standard environment for data analysis in Python. It lets you mix code, output, charts, and markdown text in one document — perfect for exploration, storytelling with data, and sharing analysis with colleagues who may not run code themselves. Understanding Jupyter shortcuts and best practices makes you significantly faster.

Example

Jupyter essentials and keyboard shortcuts
INSTALLATION & LAUNCH:
  pip install jupyter notebook   # or: pip install jupyterlab
  jupyter notebook               # launches in browser at localhost:8888
  jupyter lab                    # newer interface (recommended)

KEY SHORTCUTS:
  COMMAND MODE (Esc to enter):
    A         → insert cell Above
    B         → insert cell Below
    D D       → delete cell
    M         → convert to Markdown
    Y         → convert to Code
    Shift+↑↓  → select multiple cells
    Z         → undo cell deletion

  EDIT MODE (Enter to enter):
    Shift+Enter   → run cell, move to next
    Ctrl+Enter    → run cell, stay
    Tab           → autocomplete
    Shift+Tab     → show function docstring

MAGIC COMMANDS:
  %timeit df.groupby("Region")["Sales"].sum()  # time a command
  %%time                                        # time entire cell
  %matplotlib inline                            # show plots in notebook
  %pwd                                          # print working directory
  !pip install seaborn                          # run shell commands
💡 Shift+Enter is the most-used Jupyter shortcut — run and advance. Get comfortable with it from day one.

Key Points

  • ✓Use JupyterLab (jupyter lab) instead of classic Jupyter — better interface
  • ✓Run cells in order — skipping cells can cause NameError (variable not yet defined)
  • ✓Restart & Run All before sharing — ensures the notebook runs cleanly top-to-bottom
  • ✓Name notebooks descriptively: "Sales_EDA_2026-08.ipynb" not "Untitled.ipynb"
  • ✓Export as HTML (File → Download as → HTML) to share with non-Python colleagues

Practice Question

Which Jupyter shortcut runs the current cell and moves to the next one?

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