Type Promotion in numpy

There’s one last lesson that’s worth learning about vectors, because it can get you in trouble.

As noted above, vectors can only contain one type of data, but if you try pass a list with different kinds of data to np.array, numpy will try and be clever and find a way to put all that data in one array by doing something called “Type Promotion.” Type promotion is the practice of converting all the data you give it to the same type. For example, if I tried to create a vector by combining a string vector and a numeric vector, numpy would convert the numeric value to a string so all the data could fit in a string vector:

import numpy as np
np.array(["Nick", 42])

array(['Nick', '42'], dtype='<U21')

Why did numpy convert 42 to "42" and not convert "Nick" to a numeric type? Well because "Nick" can’t be represented as a numeric type in any meaningful sense while any number (like 42) can always be represented as a character in a meaningful way.

Indeed, there’s a hierarchy of data types, where a type lower on the hierarchy can always be converted into something higher in the order, but not the other way around. That hierarchy is:

Boolean –> integer –> float –> string

When Python is asked to combine data of different types, it will try to move things up this hierarchy by the smallest amount possible in order to make everything the same type.

(Note there are individual cases that can move backwards – the character "5" could logically be turned into 5 – but you can’t always convert a character to a numeric, so for consistently Python only moves in directions that are always possible.

For example, if you combine Boolean and float vectors, Python will convert all of the data into float (Remember from our previous reading that Python thinks of True as being like 1, and False as being like 0).

np.array([1, 2.4, True])

array([1. , 2.4, 1. ])

But it doesn’t convert that data into a string vector (even though it could!) because it’s trying to make the smallest movements up that hierarchy that it can.

But if we try to combine Boolean, float, and string data, Python would be forced to convert everything into a string vector:

np.array([True, 42, "Julio"])

array(['True', '42', 'Julio'], dtype='<U21')

Exercises

1. Now we are going to create a vector with the numbers 42, 47, and 1.618. Before you create it, what do you think the dtype will be?

2. Now create the vector and check your intuition!

3. Now we are going to create a vector from the list [47, True, 3.14]. Before you create it, what do you think the dtype will be? What do you think the array will look like?

4. Now create the vector and check your intuition!