ndtools

Collection of tools to extend multidimensional array operations

Installation

pip install ndtools

Usage

ndtools allows you to compare NumPy arrays, pandas Series, xarray DataArrays, and other array-like objects (often called “duck arrays”) against custom conditions in an intuitive way. It achieves this broad compatibility by leveraging standard protocols like __array_ufunc__, ensuring that the comparison logic works seamlessly across different libraries as long as they adhere to these conventions.

Core concepts

At its core, ndtools uses mixin classes to make your own objects comparable with these duck arrays. This allows you to define complex, domain-specific comparison logic that goes beyond simple value checks, while remaining compatible with the wider Python data science ecosystem.

Equatable mixin

Implement Equatable mixin when you need custom equality logic (==, !=). Simply define __eq__ (or __ne__) on your class, specifying how it should compare against an array’s elements. ndtools leverages NumPy’s __array_ufunc__ protocol behind the scenes, ensuring that comparisons like array == YourClass() and YourClass() == array both work seamlessly and symmetrically across compatible array types. Crucially, ndtools also automatically derives the missing comparison operator for you (e.g., it creates a working __ne__ if you only provide __eq__), reducing boilerplate code.

import numpy as np
from ndtools import Equatable

class Even(Equatable):
    def __eq__(self, array):
        return array % 2 == 0

Even() == np.arange(3)  # -> array([True, False, True])
np.arange(3) == Even()  # -> array([True, False, True])

Even() != np.arange(3)  # -> array([False, True, False])
np.arange(3) != Even()  # -> array([False, True, False])

Orderable mixin

For comparisons involving order (>=, >, <=, <), inherit from Orderable mixin. Similar in spirit to Python’s standard library functools.total_ordering, Orderable significantly simplifies defining ordered comparisons. You only need to implement one ordering method (e.g., __gt__) and one equality method (__eq__ or __ne__). From this minimal definition, ndtools automatically and robustly derives all other comparison operators (<, <=, >=, != if needed) based on logical equivalences (e.g., a <= b is equivalent to not (a > b)), again using __array_ufunc__ for broad compatibility. This powerful mechanism allows you to implement custom sorting criteria or range-like checks with minimal code, while ensuring consistent behavior across all six comparison operators. Like Equatable, it ensures comparisons work symmetrically (e.g., both array > YourClass() and YourClass() < array work correctly).

import numpy as np
from dataclasses import dataclass
from ndtools import Orderable

@dataclass
class Range(Orderable):
    lower: float
    upper: float

    def __eq__(self, array):
        return (array >= self.lower) & (array < self.upper)

    def __ge__(self, array):
        return array < self.upper

Range(1, 2) == np.arange(3)  # -> array([False, True, False])
np.arange(3) == Range(1, 2)  # -> array([False, True, False])

Range(1, 2) >= np.arange(3)  # -> array([True, True, False])
np.arange(3) <= Range(1, 2)  # -> array([True, True, False])

Combining comparables

Multiple comparables can be combined using standard Python logical operators. This applies to any comparable object inheriting from Combinable, including built-in comparables and primitive types. Use & (AND) for logical conjunction (all conditions must be True) and | (OR) for logical disjunction (at least one condition must be True). You can also use Not(comparable) to invert the result of another comparable object. This allows for the construction of complex, readable query expressions. The comparison is evaluated element-wise when the combined condition is compared against an array. Note that primitive types like 0 in the examples below are implicitly treated as comparable values when combined using & or |.

import numpy as np
from ndtools import Combinable, Equatable

class Even(Combinable, Equatable):
    def __eq__(self, array):
        return array % 2 == 0

class Odd(Combinable, Equatable):
    def __eq__(self, array):
        return array % 2 == 1

Even() | Odd()  # -> Any([Even(), Odd()])
Even() & Odd()  # -> All([Even(), Odd()])

np.arange(3) == Even() | Odd()  # -> array([True, True, True])
np.arange(3) == Even() & Odd()  # -> array([False, False, False])
np.arange(3) == Not(1)  # -> array([True, False, True])

Built-in comparables

ndtools provides several ready-to-use comparable objects designed for duck arrays.

ANY / NEVER

Comparison with them always evaluates to True or False, respectively.

import numpy as np
from ndtools import ANY, NEVER

np.arange(3) == ANY  # -> array([True, True, True])
np.arange(3) == NEVER  # -> array([False, False, False])

Match(pat, case=True, flags=0, na=None)

Checks if string array elements fully match a regular expression pattern (uses pandas.Series.str.fullmatch).

import numpy as np
from ndtools import Match

np.array(["a", "aa"]) == Match("a+")  # -> array([True, True])

Range(lower, upper, bounds="[)")

Checks if array elements are within a specified range. bounds controls inclusivity ([), [], (], ()). Use None for unbounded sides.

import numpy as np
from ndtools import Range

np.arange(3) == Range(1, 2) # -> array([False, True, False])
np.arange(3) < Range(1, 2)  # -> array([True, False, False])
np.arange(3) > Range(1, 2)  # -> array([False, False, True])

np.arange(3) == Range(None, 2)  # -> array([True, True, False])
np.arange(3) == Range(1, None)  # -> array([False, True, True])
np.arange(3) == Range(None, None)  # -> array([True, True, True])

Where(func, *args, **kwargs)

Checks if func(array, *args, **kwargs) returns True for array elements.

import numpy as np
from ndtools import Where
from numpy.char import isupper

np.array(["A", "b"]) == Where(isupper)  # -> array([True, False])