Text Features to Numerical Features using CatBoost : Implementation

Step 1: Install CatBoost and Import CatBoost

Ensure you have CatBoost installed:

!pip install catboost

Importing CatBoost

Python
from catboost import CatBoostClassifier, Pool
import pandas as pd

Step 2: Prepare Dataset

We’ll illustrate the procedure using an example dataset. Here, categorical characteristics like “City” and “Weather” are present in the dataset:

Python
data = {
    'City': ['New York', 'London', 'Tokyo', 'New York', 'Tokyo'],
    'Weather': ['Sunny', 'Rainy', 'Sunny', 'Snowy', 'Rainy'],
    'Label': [1, 0, 1, 0, 0]
}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)

Step 3: Define Features and Target

Determine the target variable and its characteristics:

Python
X = df[['City', 'Weather']]
y = df['Label']

Step 4: Initialize and Train the Model

Establish categorical characteristics and set the CatBoostClassifier’s initialization, To manage the data and indicate which characteristics are categorical, create a Pool object as follows:

Python
categorical_features = ['City', 'Weather']
model = CatBoostClassifier(iterations=100, depth=3, learning_rate=0.1, loss_function='Logloss')
train_pool = Pool(data=X, label=y, cat_features=categorical_features)
model.fit(train_pool)

Step 5: View Transformed Features

During training, CatBoost internally modifies the category characteristics. You may access the feature importances in order to examine the altered features:

Python
importances = model.get_feature_importance(train_pool, prettified=True)
print(importances)

Output:

  Feature Id  Importances
0       City    82.857487
1    Weather    17.142513

Transform Text Features to Numerical Features with CatBoost

Handling text and category data is essential to machine learning to create correct prediction models. Yandex’s gradient boosting library, CatBoost, performs very well. It provides sophisticated methods to convert text characteristics into numerical ones and supports categorical features natively, both of which may greatly enhance model performance. This article will focus on how to transform text features into numerical features using CatBoost, enhancing the model’s predictive power.

Table of Content

  • Text Processing in CatBoost
  • Steps to Transform Text Features to Numerical Features
    • 1. Loading and Storing Text Features
    • 2. Preprocessing Text Features
    • 3. Calculating New Features
    • 4. Training the Model
  • Text Features to Numerical Features using CatBoost : Implementation

Similar Reads

Text Processing in CatBoost

Text features in CatBoost are used to build new numeric features. These features are essential for tasks involving natural language processing (NLP), where raw text data needs to be converted into a format that machine learning models can understand and process effectively....

Steps to Transform Text Features to Numerical Features

1. Loading and Storing Text Features...

Text Features to Numerical Features using CatBoost : Implementation

Step 1: Install CatBoost and Import CatBoost...

Conclusion

Transforming text features into numerical features in CatBoost involves preprocessing text data using dictionaries and tokenizers, calculating new numeric features with feature calcers, and then training the model. This process enhances the model’s ability to handle text data effectively, making CatBoost a robust tool for NLP tasks. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can leverage CatBoost’s capabilities to transform and utilize text features in your machine learning models, improving their predictive performance....