diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | numpy/core/numeric.py | 26 |
1 files changed, 15 insertions, 11 deletions
diff --git a/numpy/core/numeric.py b/numpy/core/numeric.py index b5568fd86..750f69db8 100644 --- a/numpy/core/numeric.py +++ b/numpy/core/numeric.py @@ -1784,19 +1784,19 @@ def _frombuffer(buf, dtype, shape, order): @set_module('numpy') -def isscalar(num): +def isscalar(element): """ - Returns True if the type of `num` is a scalar type. + Returns True if the type of `element` is a scalar type. Parameters ---------- - num : any + element : any Input argument, can be of any type and shape. Returns ------- val : bool - True if `num` is a scalar type, False if it is not. + True if `element` is a scalar type, False if it is not. See Also -------- @@ -1804,10 +1804,14 @@ def isscalar(num): Notes ----- - In almost all cases ``np.ndim(x) == 0`` should be used instead of this - function, as that will also return true for 0d arrays. This is how - numpy overloads functions in the style of the ``dx`` arguments to `gradient` - and the ``bins`` argument to `histogram`. Some key differences: + If you need a stricter way to identify a *numerical* scalar, use + ``isinstance(x, numbers.Number)``, as that returns ``False`` for most + non-numerical elements such as strings. + + In most cases ``np.ndim(x) == 0`` should be used instead of this function, + as that will also return true for 0d arrays. This is how numpy overloads + functions in the style of the ``dx`` arguments to `gradient` and the ``bins`` + argument to `histogram`. Some key differences: +--------------------------------------+---------------+-------------------+ | x |``isscalar(x)``|``np.ndim(x) == 0``| @@ -1855,9 +1859,9 @@ def isscalar(num): True """ - return (isinstance(num, generic) - or type(num) in ScalarType - or isinstance(num, numbers.Number)) + return (isinstance(element, generic) + or type(element) in ScalarType + or isinstance(element, numbers.Number)) @set_module('numpy') |