On Thu, Nov 11, 2010 at 08:44, Michael Friedlander <mpf@cs.ubc.ca> wrote:

I'm a hopeful Matlab refugee trying to understand the numpy way. Perhaps someone can explain why some  numpy functions require shape specifications in different ways. For example,  below I create a random 2-by-3 array, and then a "ones" 2-by-3 array:

A = numpy.random.randn(2,3) B = numpy.ones((2,3))

The first call takes 2 arguments; the 2nd takes a single tuple argument. This strikes me as inconsistent, but probably I'm not grokking some numpy subleties. Can someone please explain?

rand() and randn() were added as conveniences for people who were used to the MATLAB functions. numpy.random.random_sample((2,3)) and numpy.random.standard_normal((2,3)) are the preferred, more consistent functions to use. Ignore rand() and randn() if you like. -- Robert Kern "I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had an underlying truth."   -- Umberto Eco