About agate

Why agate?

• A readable and user-friendly API.
• A complete set of SQL-like operations.
• Unicode support everywhere.
• Decimal precision everywhere.
• Exhaustive user documentation.
• Pluggable extensions that add SQL integration, Excel support, and more.
• Designed with iPython, Jupyter and atom/hydrogen in mind.
• Pure Python. No C dependencies to compile.
• Exhaustive test coverage.
• MIT licensed and free for all purposes.
• Zealously zen.
• Made with love.

Principles

agate is a intended to fill a very particular programming niche. It should not be allowed to become as complex as numpy or pandas. Please bear in mind the following principles when considering a new feature:

• Humans have less time than computers. Optimize for humans.
• Most datasets are small. Don’t optimize for “big data”.
• Text is data. It must always be a first-class citizen.
• Python gets it right. Make it work like Python does.
• Humans lives are nasty, brutish and short. Make it easy.
• Mutability leads to confusion. Processes that alter data must create new copies.
• Extensions are the way. Don’t add it to core unless everybody needs it.