python3-data

Python Data

Load python3-core for standing defaults. Load python3-typing for boundary schemas. Load python3-testing for parser and edge-case tests.

Quality Checklist

• Schema validated at first stable ingress point — not deep in transforms
• dtype= explicit in pd.read_csv() / pd.read_excel() — never rely on inference
• No raw pd.DataFrame crossing module boundaries without documented column contract
• Merge/join results checked for unexpected nulls and row count changes
• model_config = {"strict": True} on all Pydantic boundary models
• No inplace=True — deprecated, returns None, causes silent bugs
• Notebook logic that survived 3+ uses extracted into tested modules

Gotchas

Trap	What to do instead
df["a"]["b"] = x (chained indexing)	df.loc[:, "b"] = x — chained indexing silently fails
.apply(lambda) on large frames	Vectorized ops first; .apply() only when no vectorized path exists
pd.merge() without post-check	Assert no unexpected nulls or duplicate keys after merge
df.drop(..., inplace=True)	df = df.drop(...) — inplace is deprecated and returns None
Bare pd.read_csv(path)	Always pass dtype= to prevent silent type inference errors

Decision Table

Task	Use	Not
Tabular < 1M rows	pandas	Polars (overhead not justified)
Tabular > 1M rows or need speed	Polars	pandas
SQL-like analytics on local files	DuckDB	Loading everything into pandas
Read-only TOML config	tomllib (stdlib, binary mode "rb")	tomlkit
Read/write TOML preserving comments	tomlkit (text mode)	tomllib

Module Layout

etl/
├── ingest.py      # raw data loading (boundary)
├── validate.py    # schema validation (boundary)
├── transform.py   # business logic (typed core)
├── load.py        # output writing (boundary)
└── types.py       # shared typed models