gnuplot-py-users

[Gnuplot-py-users] Gnuplot.py, Numeric, and numarray

[<kai...@t-...>]

RC wrote:

> Do you have plans to update gnuplot.py to be compatible with numarray, 
> which the Numerical Python website
> says is to be the replacement for Numeric. I am fairly new to python, 
> but if it is just a question of replacing
> references to Numeric with numarray, I can probably handle it. Thanks 
> for your assistance.
> Recif


I haven't actively been following the development of numarray, but I 
understand that it is almost identical to Numeric.  Does anybody know of 
any differences that would be relevant to Gnuplot.py?  Is it imported 
under a different name, or does one still "import Numeric"?

If Gnuplot.py would require changes to use numarray, then the most 
important question is when to make the transition.  It's unlikely that 
the whole Python community will switch from one library to the other on 
the same day!

Ideally, there would be a way to use Numeric and/or numarray and/or 
JNumeric or none of the above (native Python sequences).  There would 
need to be a way to decide which to use at the time that Gnuplot.py is 
imported.

Anybody have any thoughts on this issue?

Michael

-- 
Michael Haggerty
mh...@al...

Re: [Gnuplot-py-users] Gnuplot.py, Numeric, and numarray

[Juho S. <juh...@as...>]

On Sat, 31 Jan 2004, Michael Haggerty wrote:

>
>If Gnuplot.py would require changes to use numarray, then the most 
>important question is when to make the transition.  It's unlikely that 
>the whole Python community will switch from one library to the other on 
>the same day!
>

pyfits and PyRAF use numarray instead of Numeric, so I have used  
Gnuplot.py with numarray.array inputs for more than half a year. 
Everything seems to work fine. I think numarray tries to be 
backward compatible with Numeric.

regards,

   Juho Schultz

   e-mail: juh...@as...
   www.astro.helsinki.fi/~jschultz
   Observatory
   P.O. Box 14
   FIN-00014 University of Helsinki
   FINLAND

Re: [Gnuplot-py-users] Gnuplot.py, Numeric, and numarray

[Leonardo M. <lm...@ud...>]

Hi All

> pyfits and PyRAF use numarray instead of Numeric, so I have used  
> Gnuplot.py with numarray.array inputs for more than half a year. 
> Everything seems to work fine. I think numarray tries to be 
> backward compatible with Numeric.

Yes, and moreover, there is a list of differences between the two here:
http://www.stsci.edu/resources/software_hardware/numarray/userguide

It seems like the differences should not affect Gnuplot.py,
but this is a question for Michael perhaps.

Howabout a condicional import in the relevant modules? (funcutils, etc)
Something like:

####
try:
    import Numarray as numeric_lib
except:
    import Numeric as numeric_lib
####

And then all internal references are made to "numeric_lib",
for instance 

return numeric_lib.asarray(m, Numeric.Float32)

I think it is fare to assume that the user will prefer Numarray
if installed, and I also think that Numeric will be around
for a loooong time. Sounds reasonable ? 

Best
Leo