Creating an array filled with zeros in Python NumPy : np.zeros

NumPy’s np.zeros is a function used to create a NumPy array filled with zeros. This function is particularly useful when you need to initialize an array with a specific shape and set all its elements to zero. It is a part of the NumPy library, which is widely used for numerical and scientific computing in Python.

Usage and Purpose:

The primary purpose of np.zeros is to create arrays with a pre-defined shape and fill them with zeros. It is commonly used in various scientific, engineering, and data analysis applications for tasks such as:

1. Data Initialization: You can use np.zeros to initialize arrays before filling them with actual data, making it easier to set up data structures for computations.
2. Matrix and Array Operations: In linear algebra and matrix operations, creating zero-filled arrays of specific dimensions is a common practice.
3. Image Processing: In image processing, you may need to create blank images or masks represented as arrays filled with zeros.

Advantages of np.zeros:

1. Efficiency: NumPy arrays are implemented in C and are highly efficient, making np.zeros a fast and memory-efficient way to create zero-filled arrays.
2. Ease of Use: The function is easy to use, requiring you to specify the desired shape as an argument.
3. Compatibility: NumPy arrays created using np.zeros can seamlessly integrate with other NumPy functions and libraries for further data manipulation and analysis.

Disadvantages of np.zeros:

1. Fixed Value: np.zeros initializes the array with zeros, so it may not be suitable if you need to initialize with other values.
2. Data Type: By default, np.zeros creates arrays with floating-point data types. If you need integer values, you’ll need to specify the dtype argument.

Example Using np.zeros with a Website Data Scenario:

Suppose you want to create a NumPy array to represent the daily website views for “freshers.in” for a week (7 days). You can use np.zeros for this task:

import numpy as np
# Views for website : www.freshers.in 
# Create an array representing daily website views for a week (7 days)
views_per_day = np.zeros(7, dtype=int)  # Assign sample data for website views
views_per_day[0] = 1200
views_per_day[1] = 1500
views_per_day[2] = 1100
views_per_day[3] = 1400
views_per_day[4] = 1600
views_per_day[5] = 900
views_per_day[6] = 1300
print("Daily Website Views for freshers.in:")
print(views_per_day)