What does numpy's * do to a variable?

Asked Jul 06 '16 at 21:10

Active Jul 06 '16 at 21:12

Viewed 33 times

I'm going through an online course, and don't understand the 4th line of this code:

 import numpy as np
 H1 = np.random.randn(50, 50) + 10
 p = 0.5
 U1 = np.random.rand(*H1.shape) < p

In particular, what is the * doing to H1.shape inside the np.random.rand function?

edited Jul 06 '16 at 21:12

Mad Physicist

asked Jul 06 '16 at 21:10

hoof_hearted

1

Not numpy. Python. – Mad Physicist Jul 06 '16 at 21:11
2

Summary of the above: It expands the shape tuple as if each element in it were separate arg passed to the function. – Mad Physicist Jul 06 '16 at 21:13
Ah - thanks @MadPhysicist. That's perfect. I couldn't find the answer because it's associated with python and not numpy. – hoof_hearted Jul 06 '16 at 21:15
For the future, when reading any weird notation in Python, remember that libraries just provide packages, modules, functions and constants. Pretty much all symbol characters are part of the language itself. – Mad Physicist Jul 06 '16 at 21:20
If the linked posts were helpful, remember to upvote them. – piRSquared Jul 06 '16 at 22:05

0 Answers0