Python numpy append() function is used to merge two arrays. This function returns a new array and the original array remains unchanged.
The function syntax is:
numpy.append(arr, values, axis=None)
Let’s look at some examples of NumPy append() function.
import numpy as np
arr1 = np.array([[1, 2], [3, 4]])
arr2 = np.array([[10, 20], [30, 40]])
# no axis provided, array elements will be flattened
arr_flat = np.append(arr1, arr2)
print(arr_flat) # [ 1 2 3 4 10 20 30 40]
import numpy as np
arr_merged = np.append([[1, 2], [3, 4]], [[10, 20], [30, 40]], axis=0)
print(f'Merged 2x2 Arrays along Axis-0:\n{arr_merged}')
arr_merged = np.append([[1, 2], [3, 4]], [[10, 20], [30, 40]], axis=1)
print(f'Merged 2x2 Arrays along Axis-1:\n{arr_merged}')
Output:
Merged 2x2 Arrays along Axis-0:
[[ 1 2]
[ 3 4]
[10 20]
[30 40]]
Merged 2x2 Arrays along Axis-1:
[[ 1 2 10 20]
[ 3 4 30 40]]
The append() function throws ValueError if both the arrays are of different shape, excluding the axis. Let’s understand this scenario with a simple example.
arr3 = np.append([[1, 2]], [[1, 2, 3], [1, 2, 3]])
print(arr3)
arr3 = np.append([[1, 2]], [[1, 2], [3, 4]], axis=0)
print(arr3)
Output:
[1 2 1 2 3 1 2 3]
[[1 2]
[1 2]
[3 4]]
Let’s look at another example where ValueError will be raised.
>>> import numpy as np
>>>
>>> arr3 = np.append([[1, 2]], [[1, 2, 3]], axis=0)
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "", line 1, in
File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.7/lib/python3.7/site-packages/numpy/lib/function_base.py", line 4528, in append
return concatenate((arr, values), axis=axis)
ValueError: all the input array dimensions except for the concatenation axis must match exactly
>>>
The array shapes are 1x2 and 2x3. Since the axis-1 shapes are different, ValueError is raised. Reference: API Doc
Thanks for learning with the DigitalOcean Community. Check out our offerings for compute, storage, networking, and managed databases.
While we believe that this content benefits our community, we have not yet thoroughly reviewed it. If you have any suggestions for improvements, please let us know by clicking the “report an issue“ button at the bottom of the tutorial.
Nice tutorial man! people don’t understand this basic stuff sometimes but with simple examples and little but still useful explanations like yours, everyone can get it!
- Andoni
I have now learned to numpy append
- numpyappend