[Python-Dev] Pre-PEP: Allow Empty Subscript List Without Parentheses (original) (raw)

Greg Ewing greg.ewing at canterbury.ac.nz
Sat Jun 10 02:02:30 CEST 2006

Tim Hochberg wrote:

In Numpy, a 0-D array [for example, array(5)] is almost, but not quite, equivalent to scalar [for example, 5]. The difference is that the former is mutable.

Hmmm, I hadn't considered that. I suppose this is something that arises from NumPy's "view" semantics of indexing and slicing.

Whether that makes x[] desirable I won't venture an opinion. I don't see a lot of use of 0-D arrays in practice.

Actually, I have just thought of a use for it:

def outer(): x = array(0) def inner(): x[] = 42

Bingo - write access to outer scopes!

Okay, I'm +0 on this now. But for that use, we'd need a more convenient way of creating one than importing NumPy and using array().

-- Greg

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