numpy.ndarray.view#

method

ndarray.view([dtype][, type])#

New view of array with the same data.

Note

Passing None for dtype is different from omitting the parameter, since the former invokes dtype(None) which is an alias for dtype('float_').

Parameters

dtypedata-type or ndarray sub-class, optional: Data-type descriptor of the returned view, e.g., float32 or int16. Omitting it results in the view having the same data-type as a. This argument can also be specified as an ndarray sub-class, which then specifies the type of the returned object (this is equivalent to setting the type parameter).
typePython type, optional: Type of the returned view, e.g., ndarray or matrix. Again, omission of the parameter results in type preservation.

Notes

a.view() is used two different ways:

a.view(some_dtype) or a.view(dtype=some_dtype) constructs a view of the array’s memory with a different data-type. This can cause a reinterpretation of the bytes of memory.

a.view(ndarray_subclass) or a.view(type=ndarray_subclass) just returns an instance of ndarray_subclass that looks at the same array (same shape, dtype, etc.) This does not cause a reinterpretation of the memory.

For a.view(some_dtype), if some_dtype has a different number of bytes per entry than the previous dtype (for example, converting a regular array to a structured array), then the last axis of a must be contiguous. This axis will be resized in the result.

Changed in version 1.23.0: Only the last axis needs to be contiguous. Previously, the entire array had to be C-contiguous.

Examples

>>> x = np.array([(1, 2)], dtype=[('a', np.int8), ('b', np.int8)])

Viewing array data using a different type and dtype:

>>> y = x.view(dtype=np.int16, type=np.matrix)
>>> y
matrix([[513]], dtype=int16)
>>> print(type(y))
<class 'numpy.matrix'>

Creating a view on a structured array so it can be used in calculations

>>> x = np.array([(1, 2),(3,4)], dtype=[('a', np.int8), ('b', np.int8)])
>>> xv = x.view(dtype=np.int8).reshape(-1,2)
>>> xv
array([[1, 2],
       [3, 4]], dtype=int8)
>>> xv.mean(0)
array([2.,  3.])

Making changes to the view changes the underlying array

>>> xv[0,1] = 20
>>> x
array([(1, 20), (3,  4)], dtype=[('a', 'i1'), ('b', 'i1')])

Using a view to convert an array to a recarray:

>>> z = x.view(np.recarray)
>>> z.a
array([1, 3], dtype=int8)

Views share data:

>>> x[0] = (9, 10)
>>> z[0]
(9, 10)

Views that change the dtype size (bytes per entry) should normally be avoided on arrays defined by slices, transposes, fortran-ordering, etc.:

>>> x = np.array([[1, 2, 3], [4, 5, 6]], dtype=np.int16)
>>> y = x[:, ::2]
>>> y
array([[1, 3],
       [4, 6]], dtype=int16)
>>> y.view(dtype=[('width', np.int16), ('length', np.int16)])
Traceback (most recent call last):
    ...
ValueError: To change to a dtype of a different size, the last axis must be contiguous
>>> z = y.copy()
>>> z.view(dtype=[('width', np.int16), ('length', np.int16)])
array([[(1, 3)],
       [(4, 6)]], dtype=[('width', '<i2'), ('length', '<i2')])

However, views that change dtype are totally fine for arrays with a contiguous last axis, even if the rest of the axes are not C-contiguous:

>>> x = np.arange(2 * 3 * 4, dtype=np.int8).reshape(2, 3, 4)
>>> x.transpose(1, 0, 2).view(np.int16)
array([[[ 256,  770],
        [3340, 3854]],

       [[1284, 1798],
        [4368, 4882]],

       [[2312, 2826],
        [5396, 5910]]], dtype=int16)

numpy.ndarray.var

numpy.ndarray.flags