What is categorical variable encoding?

What is categorical variable encoding?

Categorical variable encoding is a technique used to convert categorical data into a numerical format that machine learning algorithms can understand.

Why do we need to encode categorical variables?

We need to encode categorical variables because most machine learning algorithms require numerical input to perform calculations.

What are some common methods for encoding?

Common methods include one-hot encoding, label encoding, and binary encoding, each serving different purposes.

Can you explain one-hot encoding?

One-hot encoding creates binary columns for each category, indicating the presence of a category with a 1 and absence with a 0.