Python in a Nutshell, 2nd Edition

Extensions for Numeric Array Computation

From http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=1369, you can freely download any of three extension packages that are compatible with each other: Numeric, Numarray, and NumPy. Each is available either as source code (easy to build and install on many platforms) or as a pre-built self-installing .exe file for Windows; some are also available in other pre-built forms, such as .rpm files for Linux or .dmg files for Apple Mac OS X. From the same URL, you can also download an extensive tutorial on Numeric and find links to other resources, such as bug trackers, mailing lists, and the Python Scientific Computing home page (http://numeric.scipy.org/).

Each of these extensions focuses on processing large arrays of numbers, which are often multidimensional (such as matrices). High-performance support for advanced computations such as linear algebra, Fast Fourier Transforms, and image processing, is supplied by many auxiliary modules, some of which come with the extension itself, while others can be downloaded separately from other sites. Each of the extensions is a large, rich package. For a fuller understanding, study the tutorial, work through the examples, and experiment interactively. This chapter presents a reference to an essential subset of Numeric on the assumption that you already have some grasp of array manipulation and numeric computing issues. If you are unfamiliar with this subject, the Numeric tutorial can help.

Numeric is ...