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What is encoding categorical variables?
Updated May 17, 2026
Short answer
It converts categorical data into numeric format for ML models.
Deep explanation
Methods include one-hot encoding and label encoding depending on ordinal or nominal data.
Real-world example
Used in customer segmentation for marketing analytics.
Common mistakes
- Using label encoding for non-ordinal categories.
Follow-up questions
- What is one-hot encoding?
- When to avoid encoding?