On Monday, July 23, 2012, OC wrote: > > It's unPythonic just in the sense that it is unlike every other type > > constructor in Python. int(x) returns an int, list(x) returns a list, > > but np.complex64(x) sometimes returns a np.complex64, and sometimes it > > returns a np.ndarray, depending on what 'x' is. > > This "object factory" design pattern adds useful and natural functionality. > > > I can see an argument for deprecating this behaviour altogether and > > referring people to the np.asarray(x, dtype=complex) form; that would > > be cleaner and reduce confusion. Don't know if it's worth it, but > > that's the only cleanup that I can see even being considered for these > > constructors. > > From my experience in teaching, I can tell that even beginners have no > problem with the fact that "complex128(1)" returns a scalar and that > "complex128(r_[1])" returns an array. It seems to be pretty natural. > > Also, from the duck-typing point of view, both returned values are > complex, i.e. provide 'real' and 'imag' attributes and 'conjugate()' > method. > > On the contrary a real confusion is with "numpy.complex" acting > differently than the other "numpy.complex*". > > > People do write "from numpy import *" > > Yeah, that's what I do very often in interactive "ipython" sessions. > Other than this, people are warned often enough that this shouldn't be > used in real programs.
Don't be so sure of that. The "pylab" mode from matplotlib has been both a blessing and a curse. This mode is very popular and for many, "it is all they need/want to know". While it has made the transition from other languages easier for many, the polluted namespace comes at a small cost. And it is only going to get worse when moving over to py3k where just about everything is a generator. __builtin__.any can handle generators, but np.any does not. Same goes for several other functions. Note, I do agree with you that the discrepancy needs to be fixed, I just am not sure which way. Ben Root
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