How to use the NumPy.median() function in Python
Overview
NumPy is a linear algebra library for Python. It allows us to work with numeric data. Numeric data can be created and stored in a data structure called a NumPy array.
NumPy has various functions to perform calculations on arrays of numeric data. One of these is the median() function.
The numpy.median() function
The function numpy. median() returns the median of a NumPy array.
Syntax
numpy.median(
arr,
axis=None,
out=None,
overwrite_input=False,
keepdims=False
)
Parameters
arr: This represents the input array.axis: This represents the axis on which we want to calculate the median. If the axis is0, the direction is down the rows. If it is1, the direction is down the columns.out: This is an optional parameter that saves the NumPy result. The default value for themedian()function isnone.keepdims: This argument specifies the input array’s dimension. If the value is ‘True’, the decreased axes are retained in the output.
Example
The following code shows how to use the numpy.median() function in Python:
# import numpyimport numpy as np# create a listmy_list = [24,8,3,4,86,42,56,34,8]# convert the list to the numpy arraynp_list = np.array(my_list)# compute the median and store itnp_list_median = np.median(np_list)print(f"The median is {np_list_median}")
Explanation
- Line 2: We import the
numpylibrary. - Line 4: We create a list called
my_list. - Line 6: We convert the list to a NumPy array and store it in a variable,
np_list. - Line 8: We use the
np.median()and compute the median for thenp_list. - Line 10: We display the result.