Using PyTorch to Build a Working Neural Network

In this article, we will use PyTorch to build a working neural network. Specifically, this network will be trained to recognize handwritten numerical digits using the famous MNIST dataset. The code in this article borrows heavily from the PyTorch tutorial “Learn the Basics”. We do this for several reasons. Knowledge Background This article assumes the … Read more

Tensors: The Vocabulary of Neural Networks

In this article, we will introduce one of the core elements describing the mathematics of neural networks: tensors. 🧬 Although typically, you won’t work directly with tensors (usually they operate under the hood), it is important to understand what’s going on behind the scenes. In addition, you may often wish to examine tensors so that … Read more

The Magic of Neural Networks: History and Concepts

Artificial neural networks have become a powerful tool providing many benefits in our modern world. They are used to filter out spam, perform voice recognition, play games, and drive cars, among many other things. As remarkable as these tools are, they are readily within the grasp of almost anyone. If you have technical interest and … Read more

Top 4 Jupyter Notebook Alternatives for Machine Learning

In this article, we review some of the online options for running Python using online (Jupyter) Notebooks. The Python Landscape There are a number of platforms available for running Python. Some of these include: Install Python on your own machine. Use Jupyter notebooks on your own machine. Use a data science platform like Anaconda on … Read more

The Ultimate Guide to Installing Ghostscript

In this article we explore how to install Ghostscript on numerous different platforms and operating systems. What is Ghostcript? Why install it? What is Ghostscript, and why would we want to install it? To understand this we should first learn about Postscript. Postscript Postscript is a page description language geared towards desktop publishing documents. If … Read more

How to Compress PDF Files Using Python?

Problem Formulation Suppose you have a PDF file, but it’s too large and you’d like to compress it (perhaps you want to reduce its size to allow for faster transfer over the internet, or perhaps to save storage space).  Even more challenging, suppose you have multiple PDF files you’d like to compress.  Multiple online options … Read more

Mutable vs. Immutable Objects in Python

Overview: Mutable objects are Python objects that can be changed. Immutable objects are Python objects that cannot be changed. The difference originates from the fact the reflection of how various types of objects are actually represented in computer memory. Be aware of these differences to avoid surprising bugs in your programs. Introduction To be proficient … Read more