[Numpy-discussion] Release of NumPy

[Alan G Isaac]

On Tue, 15 Apr 2008, Jarrod Millman apparently wrote:
> However, when our current API is "broken" we should be 
> open to the possibility that in may need to be fixed.  
> Functions with anomalous interfaces seem like a good 
> example of candidates that would be worth modifying.  
> However, we need to consider whether the code is so widely 
> used that modifying it would unacceptable. 

What about objects with anomalous interfaces? E.g.,::

    >>> import numpy as np
    >>> x = np.mat('1 2;3 4')
    >>> x[0][0]
    matrix([[1, 2]])
    >>>

Fixing this has been under discussion for the 1.1 release 
for some time now.  To my recollection, no users of matrices 
objected, and the abstract objections from non-users 
subsided.  It would be very disappointing for the 
possibility of fixing this to go away.  The fix appears to 
be a very small change in __getitem__:
<URL:http://www.mail-archive.com/numpy-discussion@scipy.org/msg07363.html>

Cheers,
Alan Isaac