[NumPy-Tickets] [NumPy] #1590: complex array to scalar conversion fails

[Clemens Buchacher]

On Tue, Jan 04, 2011 at 01:27:10AM -0000, NumPy Trac wrote:
> 
>  {{{
>  complex(array([1j]))
>  }}}
>  fails as it does because Python first checks if the input to complex is of
>  type complex, then sees if the input has a __complex__ method, and finally
>  tries setting the real part to be the input converted to a float.

I think Python's complex() should be smarter. For example, if the
input is not complex and does not have a __complex__ method, but is
a sequence type, it could instead return a copy of the input with
each element converted to complex values. In general, it's probably
not useful to try and convert an array to a float.

>  So, the most pressing point question is: should we put a __complex__
>  method on every ndarray? If not, then what is the easiest way to add the
>  __complex__ method to only the complex arrays?

I believe complex arithmetic is fundamental to numpy. So if there
is no better alternative, adding it to every ndarray seems
reasonable to me.

Cheers,
Clemens