Numpy is the core library for scientific computing in Python. It provides a high-performance multidimensional array object, and tools for working with these arrays. A numpy array is a grid of values, all of the same type, and is indexed by a tuple of nonnegative integers. The number of dimensions is the rank of the array; the shape of an array is a tuple of integers giving the size of the array along each dimension.
The Python core library provided Lists. A list is the Python equivalent of an array, but is resizeable and can contain elements of different types.
A common beginner question is what is the real difference here. The answer is performance. Numpy data structures perform better in:
- Size – Numpy data structures take up less space
- Performance – they have a need for speed and are faster than lists
- Functionality – SciPy and NumPy have optimized functions such as linear algebra operations built in.
Memory
The main benefits of using NumPy arrays should be smaller memory consumption and better runtime behavior.
For Python Lists – We can conclude from this that for every new element, we need another eight bytes for the reference to the new object. The new integer object itself consumes 28 bytes. The size of a list “lst” without the size of the elements can be calculated with:
64 + 8 * len(lst) + + len(lst) * 28
NumPy takes up less space. This means that an arbitrary integer array of length “n” in numpy needs
96 + n * 8 Bytes
whereas a list of integer
So the more numbers you need to store – the better you do.
NumPy is the fundamental package for scientific computing in Python. NumPy arrays facilitate advanced mathematical and other types of operations on large numbers of data. Typically, such operations are executed more efficiently and with less code than is possible using Python’s built-in sequences. NumPy is not another programming language but a Python extension module. It provides fast and efficient operations on arrays of homogeneous data.
Some important points about Numpy arrays:
- We can create a N-dimensional array in python using numpy.array().
- Array are by default Homogeneous, which means data inside an array must be of the same Datatype. (Note you can also create a structured array in python).
- Element wise operation is possible.
- Numpy array has the various function, methods, and variables, to ease our task of matrix computation.
- Elements of an array are stored contiguously in memory. For example, all rows of a two dimensioned array must have the same number of columns. Or a three dimensioned array must have the same number of rows and columns on each card.
Representation of Numpy array:
- Single Dimensional Numpy Array;
importnumpy as npa =np.array([1, 2, 3])print(a)Output:[1 2 3]
- Multi-dimensional Numpy Array:
importnumpy as npa =np.array([(1, 2, 3), (4, 5, 6)])print(a)Output:[[1 2 3] [4 5 6]]
Advantages of using Numpy Arrays Over Python Lists:
- consumes less memory.
- fast as compared to the python List.
- convenient to use.
List: A list is a collection which is ordered and changeable. In Python, lists are written with square brackets.
Some important points about Python Lists:
- The list can be homogeneous or heterogeneous.
- Element wise operation is not possible on the list.
- Python list is by default 1 dimensional. But we can create an N-Dimensional list. But then too it will be 1 D list storing another 1D list
- Elements of a list need not be contiguous in memory.
Below are some examples which clearly demonstrate how Numpy arrays are better than Python lists by analyzing the memory consumption, execution time comparison, and operations supported by both of them.
Example 1: Memory consumption between Numpy array and lists
In this example, a Python list and a Numpy array of size 1000 will be created. The size of each element and then the whole size of both the containers will be calculated and comparison will be done in terms of memory consumption.
Below is the implementation.
# importing numpy package
import numpy as np
# importing system module
import sys
# declaring a list of 1000 elements
S= range(1000)
# printing size of each element of the list
print("Size of each element of list in bytes: ",sys.getsizeof(S))
# printing size of the whole list
print("Size of the whole list in bytes: ",sys.getsizeof(S)*len(S))
# declaring a Numpy array of 1000 elements
D= np.arange(1000)
# printing size of each element of the Numpy array
print("Size of each element of the Numpy array in bytes: ",D.itemsize)
# printing size of the whole Numpy array
print("Size of the whole Numpy array in bytes: ",D.size*D.itemsize)
Output:
Size of each element of list in bytes: 48 Size of the whole list in bytes: 48000 Size of each element of the Numpy array in bytes: 8 Size of the whole Numpy array in bytes: 8000
Example 2: Time comparison between Numpy array and Python lists
In this example, 2 Python lists and 2 Numpy arrays will be created and each container has 1000000 elements. Multiplication of elements in both the lists and Numpy arrays respectively will be carried out and the difference in time needed for the execution for both the containers will be analyzed to determine which one takes less time to perform the operation.
Below is the implementation.
# importing required packages
import numpy
import time
# size of arrays and lists
size = 1000000
# declaring lists
list1 = range(size)
list2 = range(size)
# declaring arrays
array1 = numpy.arange(size)
array2 = numpy.arange(size)
# capturing time before the multiplication of Python lists
initialTime = time.time()
# multiplying elements of both the lists and stored in another list
resultantList = [(a * b) for a, b in zip(list1, list2)]
# calculating execution time
print("Time taken by Lists to perform multiplication:",
(time.time() - initialTime),
"seconds")
# capturing time before the multiplication of Numpy arrays
initialTime = time.time()
# multiplying elements of both the Numpy arrays and stored in another Numpy array
resultantArray = array1 * array2
# calculating execution time
print("Time taken by NumPy Arrays to perform multiplication:",
(time.time() - initialTime),
"seconds")
Output:
Time taken by Lists : 0.15030384063720703 seconds Time taken by NumPy Arrays : 0.005921125411987305 seconds
Example 3: Effect of operations on Numpy array and Python Lists
In this example, the incapability of the Python list to carry out a basic operation is demonstrated. A Python list and a Numpy array having the same elements will be declared and an integer will be added to increment each element of the container by that integer value without looping statements. The effect of this operation on the Numpy array and Python list will be analyzed.
Below is the implementation.
# importing Numpy package
import numpy as np
# declaring a list
ls =[1, 2, 3]
# converting the list into a Numpy array
arr = np.array(ls)
try:
# adding 4 to each element of list
ls = ls + 4
except(TypeError):
print("Lists don't support list + int")
# now on array
try:
# adding 4 to each element of Numpy array
arr = arr + 4
# printing the Numpy array
print("Modified Numpy array: ",arr)
except(TypeError):
print("Numpy arrays don't support list + int")
Output:
Lists don't support list + int Modified Numpy array: [5 6 7]
