[Numpy-discussion] Is `numpy.lib.shape_base.normalize_axis_index` considered part of the public API?

[Warren Weckesser]

It would be handy if in scipy we can use the function
`numpy.lib.shape_base.normalize_axis_index` as a consistent method for
validating an `axis` argument.  Is this function considered part of
the public API?

There are modules in numpy that do not have leading underscores but
are still usually considered private.  I'm not sure if
`numpy.lib.shape_base` is one of those.  `normalize_axis_index` is not
in the top-level `numpy` namespace, and it is not included in the API
reference (https://numpy.org/devdocs/search.html?q=normalize_axis_index&check_keywords=yes&area=default),
so I'm not sure if we can safely consider this function to be public.

Warren