❔ Interview question

What is the primary purpose of using np.frombuffer() in NumPy, and how does it handle memory views when dealing with structured arrays?

Answer:
The function np.frombuffer() allows creating a NumPy array from a buffer object, such as a bytes object or memoryview, without copying the data. It interprets the raw bytes according to a specified dtype. When used with structured arrays, it relies on the exact byte layout defined by the dtype, which can lead to unexpected behavior if the structure doesn't align with the actual memory representation, especially across different architectures or endianness. This makes it powerful but risky for low-level data manipulation.

tags: #numpy #python #memoryview #structuredarrays #frombuffer #lowlevel #datainterpretation

By: @DataScienceQ 🚀