Most efficient way to map function over numpy array

Question

What is the most efficient way to map a function over a numpy array? The way I\'ve been doing it in my current project is as follows:

import numpy as np 

x          


        

Answer 1

squares = squarer(x)

Arithmetic operations on arrays are automatically applied elementwise, with efficient C-level loops that avoid all the interpreter overhead that would apply to a Python-level loop or comprehension.

Most of the functions you'd want to apply to a NumPy array elementwise will just work, though some may need changes. For example, if doesn't work elementwise. You'd want to convert those to use constructs like numpy.where:

def using_if(x):
    if x < 5:
        return x
    else:
        return x**2

becomes

def using_where(x):
    return numpy.where(x < 5, x, x**2)