The **pandas** library in Python is used to work with dataframes which structures data in rows and columns. It is widely used in data analysis and machine learning.

# Head function

The **`head` function** in Python displays the first five rows of the dataframe by default. It takes in a single parameter: the *number of rows*. We can use this parameter to display the number of rows of our choice. 

## Syntax

The `head` function is defined as follows:

```Python
dataframe.head(N)
```

> N refers to the number of rows. If no parameter is passed, the first five rows are returned.

The `head` function also supports negative values of N. In that case, all rows except the last N rows are returned.

## Example

The code snippet below shows how the `head` function is used in pandas:

import pandas as pd

# Creating a dataframe
df = pd.DataFrame({'Sports': ['Football', 'Cricket', 'Baseball', 'Basketball',
                'Tennis', 'Table-tennis', 'Archery', 'Swimming', 'Boxing']})

print(df.head()) # By default
print('\n')
print(df.head(3)) # Printing first 3 rows
print('\n')
print(df.head(-2)) # Printing all except the last 2 rows

# Tail function

The **`tail` function** in Python displays the last five rows of the dataframe by default. It takes in a single parameter: the *number of rows*. We can use this parameter to display the number of rows of our choice. 

## Syntax

The `tail` function is defined as follows:

```Python
dataframe.tail(N)
```

> N refers to the number of rows. If no parameter is passed, the first last rows are returned.

The `tail` function also supports negative values of N. In that case, all rows except the first N rows are returned.

## Example

The code snippet below shows how the `tail` function is used in pandas:





import pandas as pd

# Creating a dataframe
df = pd.DataFrame({'Sports': ['Football', 'Cricket', 'Baseball', 'Basketball',
                'Tennis', 'Table-tennis', 'Archery', 'Swimming', 'Boxing']})

print(df.tail()) # By default
print('\n')
print(df.tail(3)) # Printing last 3 rows
print('\n')
print(df.tail(-2)) # Printing all except the first 2 rows

# Summary

The illustration below summarizes `head` and `tail` functions in pandas:

What are head and tail functions in pandas?

The pandas library in Python is used to work with dataframes which structures data in rows and columns. It is widely used in data analysis and machine learning. Head function The head function in Python displays the first five rows of the dataframe by default. It takes in a single parameter: the number of rows. We can use this parameter to display the number of rows of our choice. Syntax The head function is defined as follows: dataframe.head(N)   N refers to the number of rows. If no parameter is passed, the first five rows are returned.  The head function also supports negative values of N. In that case, all rows except the last N rows are returned. Example The code snippet below shows how the head function is used in pandas: 