[Numpy-discussion] Characteristic of a Matrix.

[Nathaniel Smith]

Hi Colin,

On Wed, Jan 7, 2015 at 12:58 AM, cjw <cjw at ncf.ca> wrote:
>
> My recollection, from discussions, at the time of the introduction of the @
> operator, was that there was no intention to disturb the existing Matrix
> class.

Yeah, we're not going to be making any major changes to the
numpy.matrix class -- e.g. we certainly aren't going to disallow
non-numeric data types at this point.

> I see the matrix as a long recognized mathematical entity.  On the other
> hand, the array is a very useful computational construct, used in a number
> of computer languages.
>
> Since matrices are now part of some high school curricula, I urge that they
> be treated appropriately in Numpy.  Further, I suggest that consideration be
> given to establishing V and VT sub-classes, to cover vectors and transposed
> vectors.

The numpy devs don't really have the interest or the skills to create
a great library for pedagogical use in high schools. If you're
interested in an interface like this, then I'd suggest creating a new
package focused specifically on that (which might use numpy
internally). There's really no advantage in glomming this into numpy
proper.

-n

-- 
Nathaniel J. Smith
Postdoctoral researcher - Informatics - University of Edinburgh
http://vorpus.org