[Numpy-discussion] ndarray.fill and ma.array.filled

[Christopher Barker]

Fernando Perez wrote:
> Well, but is copy/view the /only/ invariant worth guaranteeing?  I think 
> there is a valid need for functions which ensure other invariants, such 
> as contiguity.

quite true.

> My take on this is that we should /document/ clearly what invariants any 
> given function satisfies, but I think the 'always view/always copy' view 
> excludes an important usage case.  There may be others beyond 
> contiguity, but that's the one that pops immediately to mind.

there's asarray() of course.

My feeling is that functions that may or may not return a copy should be 
functions, like asarray(), that ONLY exist to ensure a particular invariant.

ascontiguous()

asarray()

I imagine there are others.

What concerns me is functions like reshape() and ravel() that you might 
have all sorts of other reasons to use, but then can't ever know for 
sure if your method is going to be working with a copy or not.

-Chris




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Christopher Barker, Ph.D.
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