2-d array using Python's array.array module?

Question

array.array is a built-in type, looks like it will be much more efficient than list for some numerical tasks.

In numpy I could create a 2-d array easily, for example: a = numpy.asarray([[1,2][3,4]], dtype='int')

But I couldn't find how to create a 2-d array using array.array, can I?

Answer 1

No, though you can do index math to emulate one (which is how they work behind the scenes anyway). array.array is useful for its storage and conversion capabilities but actual calculation on array contents is likely far more efficient using numpy. Of course you can also keep a list of arrays if you wish.