[Numpy-discussion] median object

[Robert Kern]

On Mon, Jul 6, 2009 at 18:00, keflavich<keflavich at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi, I want to be able to do something like:
>
> import numpy
> x=numpy.array([1,4,4,6,7,3,4,2])
> x.median()
>
> rather than
> numpy.median(x)
>
> so that in a function, I can call
> x.median()
> and allow x to be a masked array or a numpy array.
>
> Using the ma.median version by default is something of a workaround, because
> it appears to work on both numpy arrays and masked arrays.  My question,
> though, is: why is median() not implemented as an attribute of the
> array/masked array object, while min/max/mean/std are?  Is there a better
> workaround?

You may want to consider using simplegeneric to make a generic
function that will dispatch to the type-appropriate implementation.

  http://pypi.python.org/pypi/simplegeneric

-- 
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless
enigma that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as
though it had an underlying truth."
  -- Umberto Eco