Reverse instructional design --- using Python for data processing

Jul 29, 2014 • Xu Fei

The questions are based on a short introduction on "Processing data in Python instead of spreadsheets".

1. Which one of the following answers describes the benefit of using Python for data processing over spreadsheets?

a) Python is easier to learn than spreadsheets.

b) It is always faster to write a Python script to process data than clicking on spreadsheets.

c) A Python script allows us to check each step of the data processing pipeline, whereas it is difficult to know exactly what happened to the data in spreadsheet files.

d) Python is better documented than most of spreadsheet programs.

  1. Can you think of situations where it is more suitable to process data in spreadsheets than in Python?