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But before we delve into the course itself, let's just talk about what we're
assuming you have as background in order to successfully complete this course.
So in terms of math background, we're assuming that you know
very basic calculus like how to take the derivative of a single variable.
Function.
But even that we're gonna walk through fairly slowly, but
it's good if you remember it.
We're also gonna assume that you know how to do very basic linear algebra
manipulations like how to multiply to vectors, to matrices,
and also of course what the notion is of a matrix and a vector, but again, we're
gonna step through these ideas fairly slowly at the beginning of the course.
In terms of programming experience, we've tried to make this course
as open as possible to people having preferences in different languages.
We're gonna, encourage the use of Python.
But this is not actually required.
So all of our programming assignments, we're gonna provide you with some starter
code and that starter code will be in Python.
So of course it's helpful if you are familiar with Python, but
again you're welcome to use any language you would like.
We're focused on teaching you the concepts of machine learning
rather than any specific implementation details.
But, I should mention that if you did programming assignments for
the first course, you are set for what will be required in this course.
So in the first course of this specialization,
we relied on pre-implemented algorithms like GraphLab Create, but in this course,
we're actually going to teach you all the all the algorithmic details and
how to implement these algorithms so that you can code these up yourself.
So in particular, in this course, we're suggesting that you use SFrames,
which from the first course you remember is an open source library that allows for
really scalable and efficient data manipulation, but you're welcome to use
any data structure that you would like or library such as pandas.
And for our assignments.
The structure of the assignments are going to start with exploring high level
concepts in the first part and
then delving into that implementation details of each of the algorithms.
So for the first part, we're going to encourage the use of pre-implemented
algorithms, so that you can test these high level concepts without getting bogged
down in potential bugs in your actual implementation.
And then in the second part, once you've explored those concepts,
then we're gonna have you actually implement all the algorithms from scratch
without relying on these pre-implemented methods.
If you're using Python, you will be using the Numpy library for
manipulating matrices and vectors.
Okay, so the net result is that in this course,
you're really gonna get your hands dirty in implementing all the methods.
Related to regression that you saw in the first foundational course this
specialization as well as a bunch of new methods that we're
gonna explore in this course.
So finally,
let's discuss what computing resources you guys need and there are two options.
Either, you have your own computer and it can actually be a fairly basic computer.
But if you are gonna use SFrames, you are gonna need a 64-bit machine.
You'll also need to have access to the internet, of course, to watch
these wonderful videos, as well as to implement your programming assignments.
And you'll need the ability to install and run Python.
And any libraries we're using associated with that and
to store a few gigabytes of data, but the alternative, especially if you
don't have a 64-bit machine, is we're providing a set of machines in the cloud
that are pre-configured with everything you'll need for this course.
So all you'll need is internet access to access those machines in the cloud.
So now that you guys are psyched about this course, let's get started.
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