NumPy Essentials

The need for NumPy arrays

A fundamental question that beginners ask is. Why are arrays necessary for scientific computing at all? Surely, one can perform complex mathematical operations on any abstract data type, such as a list. The answer lies in the numerous properties of arrays that make them significantly more useful. In this section, let's go over a few of these properties to emphasize why something such as the NumPy ndarray object exists at all.

Representing of matrices and vectors

The abstract mathematical concepts of matrices and vectors are central to many scientific problems. Arrays provide a direct semantic link to these concepts. Indeed, whenever a piece of mathematical literature makes reference to a matrix, one can safely think of ...