You merge two tables. Both have a status column. After the merge, df['status'] isn't what you think it is.
The problem: Duplicate column names after merge create status_x and status_y. You can't tell which is which.
The fix: Use explicit suffixes to show which table each column came from.
The rule:
Always use explicit suffixes= parameter Give primary table empty suffix: suffixes=('', '_lookup') Use semantic names: _user, _product, _meta, not _x, _y Drop duplicate columns you don't need immediately
Karina Data Scientist
You merge two tables. Both have a status column. After the merge, df['status'] isn't what you think it is.
The problem: Duplicate column names after merge create status_x and status_y. You can't tell which is which.
The fix: Use explicit suffixes to show which table each column came from.
The rule:
Always use explicit suffixes= parameter
Give primary table empty suffix: suffixes=('', '_lookup')
Use semantic names: _user, _product, _meta, not _x, _y
Drop duplicate columns you don't need immediately
1 week ago | [YT] | 33