Excel has changed! Microsoft "plugged" Python into it, and it can directly engage in machine learning

Original source: Qubit

Super Plus enjoy!

Microsoft put Python into Excel!

Build a machine learning weather forecasting model, which can be realized in Excel.

And without any settings, enter "=PY" in the cell, and you can start working.

Data cleaning, predictive analysis, visualization and other tasks can be easily realized.

Also reached a cooperation with Anaconda. Various common Python libraries can be used directly, such as Matplotlib, Seaborn, etc.

Let's just say, Excel is going to turn into a "super monster" this time.

Can let Copilot in Excel write Python

** **。

Among the many programming languages, Python is also on the rise.

Guido van Rossum, the father of Python, said:

Great to see the tight integration of Python and Excel, awesome! When I joined Microsoft 3 years ago, I never dreamed that this would come true!

And he himself contributed to the effort.

Let's see the specific effect first!

Enable machine learning in Excel

The application of Python in Excel focuses on simplicity and quickness.

Just type =PY in the input box, and then press Enter to call Python.

After the "combination" of Python and Excel, data visualization has become easier.

Using the generated DataFrame and simple drawing instructions, you can get the chart in three or two clicks after =PY.

If you use the Matplotlib and seaborn libraries, you can also draw more advanced data images.

It's really a gray goose girl!

Not only is the drawing simple and fast, even the data itself does not require preprocessing——

With Python, even if it is a piece of text, the required data can be extracted from it, and the format can be adjusted by the way.

However, if it's just for data analysis, implanting Python will inevitably seem a bit overkill.

So using Python libraries such as scikit-learn and statsmodels, you can do machine learning in Excel.

This enables Excel not only to analyze existing data, but also to predict data that is not available, such as weather forecasting based on historical weather information.

As an office product, how can it lack teamwork?

In addition to functions specific to the data itself, Python in Excel can be shared seamlessly across teams.

So, what should I do if the amount of data is too large and the computer configuration cannot carry it?

In fact, there is no need to worry, because the Python in Excel is calculated on the cloud.

After the cloud server completes the calculation, it will return the result to Excel.

This feature is currently in a gradual beta, during which it is included with Microsoft 365 subscriptions.

Microsoft said that it will further optimize and adjust the functions based on user feedback.

However, after the closed beta is over, some functions may have to be paid for (doge).

**Netizen: I hope it can be used locally! **

This wave of big operations by Microsoft has brought productivity to a new level.

Some people say that work efficiency will definitely be greatly improved.

Some people even said that it was as if mobile phones were able to surf the Internet!

But after integrating native Python, will VBA be terminated?

Some people expressed that they hope to keep VBA in Excel.

In addition, the issue that everyone is most concerned about is that Python computing will go to the cloud.

Many people think that Python's computing is actually very lightweight, and hope that Microsoft can realize local operation, after all, going to the cloud will affect the speed.

Some people also said that the company strictly forbids data to be leaked, so localized operation is very important.

For data security issues, Microsoft said they will protect user data as a top priority.

And a former Excel employee broke the news that the introduction of Python into Excel has long been thought of.

**As for whether Python should run on the cloud or locally, there was a discussion within the team at that time. **

However, the later projects seem to have been shelved, and JS took the lead.

It is worth mentioning that Guido van Rossum, the father of **Python, provided assistance for this cooperation between Excel and Python.

The big man is now 67 years old. He has always been very concerned about the development process of Python and will participate in decision-making when necessary. When he was working at Google before, he also spent a lot of time maintaining Python.

In 2020, Guido, who had already retired, suddenly announced that he would join Microsoft.

The reason is simple: Retirement is boring.

It turned out that 3 years later, Excel and Python joined forces to make a big deal.

Guido himself said that this was unimaginable when he joined Microsoft.

Now, let's wait for the public beta~

Reference link: [1] [2] [3] [4]