Tag: Dataset

Machine Learning for Dummies, 2nd Edition, MovieLens Dataset

Updated March 15, 2023 to clarify the usage instructions.

The movies.dat file found in the Trudging through the MovieLens dataset section of Chapter 19 of Machine Learning for Dummies, 2nd Edition has been updated on the source site, so it no longer works with the downloadable source. Luca and I want to be sure you have a great learning experience. Fortunately, we do have a copy of the version of movies.dat found in the book. You can download the entire MovieLens dataset here:

MovieLens DatasetDownload

To obtain your copy of the MoveLens dataset for your local Python setup, please follow these steps:

  1. Click the link or the Download button. The ml-1m.zip file will appear on your hard drive.
  2. Remove the files from the archive. You should see four files in a folder named ml-1m: movies.dat, ratings.dat, README, and users.dat.
  3. Place the files in the downloadable source directory for this book on your system.

Note that you may not be able to use automatic downloads with my site, which is a security measure on my part. In addition, it ensures that you get all of the MovieLens dataset files, including the README, which contains licensing, citation, and other information. This solution may not work well if you’re using an online IDE and I apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Please let me know if you have any other problems with this example at [email protected].