Pandas DataFrame diff() Method
Example
Find the difference between the values for each row and the values from the previous row:
import pandas as pd
data = [[10, 18, 11], [13, 15, 8], [9, 20, 3]]
df = pd.DataFrame(data)
print(df.diff())
Try it Yourself »
Definition and Usage
The diff() method returns a DataFrame with
the difference between the values for each row and, by default, the previous
row.
Which row to compare with can be specified with the
periods parameter.
If the axis parameter is set to axes='columns',
the method finds the difference column by column instead of row by row.
Syntax
dataframe.diff(periods, axis)
Parameters
The
periods
and axis parameters are
keyword arguments.
| Parameter | Value | Description |
|---|---|---|
| periods | a number | Optional. Specifies which row/column to calculate the differnce between. Default 1, which means the previous row/column. |
| axis | 0 |
Optional, default 0, specifies the axis to check the difference between. |
Return Value
A DataFrame object with the differences.
