Summary  
This chapter covers using string replacement on column values with `.str.replace()` and converting column types to numeric with `.astype()`.  

General domain of usage  
Data cleaning

So, you received the result `object`. This means that the type of the column is non-numerical, but to calculate necessary values, the column need to be numerical. Let's change that.
1. Firstly, we need to replace `-` with `.`. To do so, you will apply the method `.str.replace()` to replace the character in the string in the dataset column. The syntax is  
`data['column_name'].str.replace('old_symbol','new_symbol')`  
In our case, `old_symbol` is `-`, and `.` is the `new_symbol`;
2. Then, convert the column to the float `data` type. To do so, use `.astype()` method. The syntax is `data['column_name'].astype('type')`.  
In our case, the type is `'float'`.

import unittest
import pandas as pd
import io
import sys
import numpy as np


def _dynamic_test(test_case, condition, success_msg, failure_msg):
    if condition:
        test_case._testMethodName = success_msg
        test_case.assertTrue(True, success_msg)
    else:
        test_case._testMethodName = failure_msg
        test_case.fail(failure_msg)


class TestFareTransformation(unittest.TestCase):
    def test_fare_transformed_to_float(self):
        """
        1â2. Check that all '-' in 'Fare' were replaced with '.' and column converted to float.
        """
        import user_code

        # reference dataset
        url = "https://codefinity-content-media.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/4bf24830-59ba-4418-969b-aaf8117d522e/titanic3.csv"
        df_ref = pd.read_csv(url, index_col=0)

        # user result
        assert hasattr(user_code, "data"), "Variable 'data' not found."
        df_user = user_code.data.copy()

        # ensure column exists
        assert "Fare" in df_user.columns, "Column 'Fare' missing in DataFrame."

        # condition 1: dtype is float
        dtype_correct = np.issubdtype(df_user["Fare"].dtype, np.floating)

        # condition 2: no '-' symbols remain (after conversion, values should all be numeric)
        # convert to string to check presence of '-'
        contains_hyphen = df_user["Fare"].astype(str).str.contains("-").any()
        condition = dtype_correct and not contains_hyphen

        _dynamic_test(
            self,
            condition,
            "The column 'Fare' was correctly cleaned (no '-') and converted to float type.",
            "The 'Fare' column still contains '-' or has not been converted to float."
        )


class TestOutput(unittest.TestCase):
    def test_output_dtype_printed(self):
        """
        3. Check that the data type of 'Fare' is printed.
        """
        import user_code

        captured_output = io.StringIO()
        sys.stdout = captured_output
        print(user_code.data["Fare"].dtypes)
        sys.stdout = sys.__stdout__

        output_text = captured_output.getvalue().strip()
        condition = "float" in output_text.lower()
        _dynamic_test(
            self,
            condition,
            "The data type of the 'Fare' column is printed correctly as float.",
            "The output does not show the 'float' data type. Ensure you print data['Fare'].dtypes."
        )


if __name__ == "__main__":
    unittest.main()

test_code.py

This course contains a lot of useful functions for a future data analyst. You will learn different ways of extracting data and even set conditions on it. After it, you will be familiar with the methods of grouping data. Also, you will learn how to preprocess data. Each section has its data set so that the course will be gripping.

This section will teach you how to output specific columns by their titles or indices. Also, you will get acquainted with the ways you can select rows  by indices.

Here, you will learn how to extract data that has specific conditions. Also, you will learn how to combine them and even create your own.

In this section, you will expand your knowledge on setting different data conditions. You will learn to check if your data is in a defined list of values or between two values. You will also learn how to find the largest and smallest values.

This section is one of the most fascinating of the course. Here, you will learn how to group data in different ways. It will help you work as a data analyst to find out information on specific data groups.

This section is one of the most significant for a data analyst because if the data contains missing data values in the incorrect format, it will be impossible to work with. Thus, you will learn how to deal with such inappropriate values here. 

Managing an Incorrect Column

Solution