What is the identity of "ndim, shape, size, ..etc" of ndarray in numpy

Question

I'm quite new at Python.

After using Matlab for many many years, recently, I started studying numpy/scipy

It seems like the most basic element of numpy seems to be ndarray. In ndarray, there are following attributes:

• ndarray.ndim
• ndarray.shape
• ndarray.size
• ...etc

I'm quite familiar with C++/JAVA classes, but I'm a novice at Python OOP.

---

Q1: My first question is what is the identity of the above attributes?

At first, I assumed that the above attribute might be public member variables. But soon, I found that a.ndim = 10 doesn't work (assuming a is an object of ndarray) So, it seems it is not a public member variable.

Next, I guessed that they might be public methods similar to getter methods in C++. However, when I tried a.nidm() with a parenthesis, it doesn't work. So, it seems that it is not a public method.

The other possibility might be that they are private member variables, but but print a.ndim works, so they cannot be private data members.

So, I cannot figure out what is the true identity of the above attributes.

---

Q2. Where I can find the Python code implementation of ndarray? Since I installed numpy/scipy on my local PC, I guess there might be some ways to look at the source code, then I think everything might be clear.

Could you give some advice on this?

Answer 1

numpy is implemented as a mix of C code and Python code. The source is available for browsing on github, and can be downloaded as a git repository. But digging your way into the C source takes some work. A lot of the files are marked as .c.src, which means they pass through one or more layers of perprocessing before compiling.

And Python is written in a mix of C and Python as well. So don't try to force things into C++ terms.

It's probably better to draw on your MATLAB experience, with adjustments to allow for Python. And numpy has a number of quirks that go beyond Python. It is using Python syntax, but because it has its own C code, it isn't simply a Python class.

I use Ipython as my usual working environment. With that I can use foo? to see the documentation for foo (same as the Python help(foo), and foo?? to see the code - if it is writen in Python (like the MATLAB/Octave type(foo))

Python objects have attributes, and methods. Also properties which look like attributes, but actually use methods to get/set. Usually you don't need to be aware of the difference between attributes and properties.

 x.ndim   # as noted, has a get, but no set; see also np.ndim(x)
 x.shape   # has a get, but can also be set; see also np.shape(x)

x.<tab> in Ipython shows me all the completions for a ndarray. There are 4*18. Some are methods, some attributes. x._<tab> shows a bunch more that start with __. These are 'private' - not meant for public consumption, but that's just semantics. You can look at them and use them if needed.

Off hand x.shape is the only ndarray property that I set, and even with that I usually use reshape(...) instead. Read their docs to see the difference. ndim is the number of dimensions, and it doesn't make sense to change that directly. It is len(x.shape); change the shape to change ndim. Likewise x.size shouldn't be something you change directly.

Some of these properties are accessible via functions. np.shape(x) == x.shape, similar to MATLAB size(x). (MATLAB doesn't have . attribute syntax).

x.__array_interface__ is a handy property, that gives a dictionary with a number of the attributes

In [391]: x.__array_interface__
Out[391]: 
{'descr': [('', '<f8')],
 'version': 3,
 'shape': (50,),
 'typestr': '<f8',
 'strides': None,
 'data': (165646680, False)}

The docs for ndarray(shape, dtype=float, buffer=None, offset=0, strides=None, order=None), the __new__ method lists these attributes:

`Attributes
----------
T : ndarray
    Transpose of the array.
data : buffer
    The array's elements, in memory.
dtype : dtype object
    Describes the format of the elements in the array.
flags : dict
    Dictionary containing information related to memory use, e.g.,
    'C_CONTIGUOUS', 'OWNDATA', 'WRITEABLE', etc.
flat : numpy.flatiter object
    Flattened version of the array as an iterator.  The iterator
    allows assignments, e.g., ``x.flat = 3`` (See `ndarray.flat` for
    assignment examples; TODO).
imag : ndarray
    Imaginary part of the array.
real : ndarray
    Real part of the array.
size : int
    Number of elements in the array.
itemsize : int
    The memory use of each array element in bytes.
nbytes : int
    The total number of bytes required to store the array data,
    i.e., ``itemsize * size``.
ndim : int
    The array's number of dimensions.
shape : tuple of ints
    Shape of the array.
strides : tuple of ints
    The step-size required to move from one element to the next in
    memory. For example, a contiguous ``(3, 4)`` array of type
    ``int16`` in C-order has strides ``(8, 2)``.  This implies that
    to move from element to element in memory requires jumps of 2 bytes.
    To move from row-to-row, one needs to jump 8 bytes at a time
    (``2 * 4``).
ctypes : ctypes object
    Class containing properties of the array needed for interaction
    with ctypes.
base : ndarray
    If the array is a view into another array, that array is its `base`
    (unless that array is also a view).  The `base` array is where the
    array data is actually stored.

All of these should be treated as properties, though I don't think numpy actually uses the property mechanism. In general they should be considered to be 'read-only'. Besides shape, I only recall changing data (pointer to a data buffer), and strides.