Basic Array Attributes

Understanding the structure of a NumPy array is often desired, especially for large arrays, without needing to print its entire content. NumPy arrays come with several useful attributes that provide metadata about the array itself. These attributes don't require parentheses () like methods do; instead, they are accessed directly using dot notation (e.g., my_array.attribute). The fundamental attributes include ndim, shape, size, and dtype.

Imagine you have created a couple of arrays like these:

import numpy as np

# A 1-dimensional array
arr1d = np.array([1, 2, 3, 4, 5])

# A 2-dimensional array (3 rows, 4 columns)
arr2d = np.array([[1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0],
                  [5.0, 6.0, 7.0, 8.0],
                  [9.0, 10.0, 11.0, 12.0]])

Now, let's inspect their attributes.

ndim: Number of Axes (Dimensions)

The ndim attribute tells you the number of axes, or dimensions, of the array. A 1D array has one axis, a 2D array has two axes (like rows and columns in a spreadsheet), a 3D array has three, and so on.

print(arr1d.ndim)
# Expected Output: 1

print(arr2d.ndim)
# Expected Output: 2

Knowing the number of dimensions is fundamental for understanding how to index the array and how operations might behave.

shape: The Dimensions of the Array

While ndim tells you how many axes there are, the shape attribute tells you the size of the array along each of those axes. It returns a tuple of integers indicating the number of elements along each dimension.

For our 1D array arr1d, the shape reflects its length:

print(arr1d.shape)
# Expected Output: (5,)

Notice the comma inside the tuple (5,). This indicates it's a tuple with one element, signifying one dimension of length 5.

For our 2D array arr2d, the shape reflects its structure of rows and columns:

print(arr2d.shape)
# Expected Output: (3, 4)

This output (3, 4) tells us the array has 2 dimensions (because there are two numbers in the tuple, which matches arr2d.ndim). The first axis has a length of 3 (think rows), and the second axis has a length of 4 (think columns).

The shape is one of the most frequently used attributes, as it provides a quick overview of the array's structure.

size: Total Number of Elements

The size attribute provides the total number of elements in the array. This is simply the product of the elements in the shape tuple.

print(arr1d.size)
# Expected Output: 5

print(arr2d.size)
# Expected Output: 12

For arr1d, the size is 5 (matching its shape (5,)). For arr2d, the size is $3 \times 4 = 12$ (matching its shape (3, 4)). This attribute is handy for quickly knowing how much data you're dealing with.

dtype: Data Type of Array Elements

We discussed earlier that NumPy arrays contain elements of the same data type. The dtype attribute reveals what that data type is. NumPy automatically infers a suitable data type when you create an array, but you can also specify it explicitly.

print(arr1d.dtype)
# Expected Output: dtype('int64') (or potentially 'int32' depending on your system)

print(arr2d.dtype)
# Expected Output: dtype('float64')

In arr1d, NumPy detected integers, so it likely assigned a 64-bit integer type (int64). In arr2d, we used numbers with decimal points (like 1.0), so NumPy assigned a 64-bit floating-point type (float64).

Knowing the dtype is important for several reasons:

• Memory Usage: Different data types consume different amounts of memory (e.g., int64 uses more memory than int8).
• Precision: Floating-point types (float32, float64) offer different levels of precision.
• Compatibility: Some operations require specific data types.

These attributes (ndim, shape, size, dtype) are your first tools for inspecting and understanding the structure and nature of your NumPy arrays. Regularly checking them helps ensure your arrays are structured as expected before you proceed with more complex operations.