[Numpy-discussion] Anyone have a well-tested SWIG-based C++ STL valarray <=> numpy.array typemap to share?

[Christopher Barker]

Joris De Ridder wrote:
> A related question, just out of curiosity: is there a technical  
> reason why Numpy has been coded in C rather than C++?

There was a fair bit of discussion about this back when the numarray 
project started, which was a re-implementation of the original Numeric.

IIRC, one of the drivers was that C++ support was still pretty 
inconsistent across compilers and OSs, particularly if you wanted to 
really get the advantages of C++, by using templates and the like.

It was considered very important that the numpy code base be very portable.

C++ compilers have gotten better an more standards compliant, but as a 
recent thread shows, folks still want to build numpy with older 
compilers and libs, so the reasoning still holds.

Too bad, in a way, I suspect a well-designed C++ numpy could make it 
easier to write compiled extensions, which would be pretty nice.

Of course, it should be possible to write C++ wrappers around the core 
ND-array object, if anyone wants to take that on!

-Chris

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Christopher Barker, Ph.D.
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