Which sparse matrix package?

[Robert Kern]

Martin Manns wrote:

> Should I use another type of matrix in scipy.sparse? If yes which?

If you have a benchmark, you might just want to try all of them. Should be just 
a matter of a small script. Block Sparse Row (bsr_matrix) might be the most 
appropriate in terms of data structure, but it appears that a bunch of stuff 
important for your use case is unimplemented.

> Does a different data-structure suit my above-stated needs better?

Something similar to a quadtree might be more suitable. That should let you do 
queries along both dimensions easily. You probably don't want exactly a 
quadtree, though; it's good for scattered points, but probably not for largish 
blocks of points on a precise grid, which you will probably see frequently in a 
spreadsheet application.

-- 
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