The NumPy concatenate()
method joins a sequence of arrays along an existing axis.
Example
import numpy as np
array1 = np.array([[0, 1], [2, 3]])
array2 = np.array([[4, 5], [6, 7]])
# join the arrays
concatenatedArray = np.concatenate((array1, array2))
print(concatenatedArray)
'''
Output:
[[0 1]
[2 3]
[4 5]
[6 7]]
'''
concatenate() Syntax
The syntax of concatenate()
is:
numpy.concatenate((array1, array2, …), axis, out)
concatenate() Arguments
The concatenate()
method takes the following arguments:
(array1, array2, …)
- the sequence of arrays to be joinedaxis
(optional)- defines the dimension in which the arrays are joinedout
(optional) - destination to store the result.dtype
(optional) - datatype of the resultant array
Notes:
- All the input arrays' dimensions except for the concatenation axis must match exactly.
- Only one of
out
anddtype
arguments can be passed.
concatenate() Return Value
The concatenate()
method returns the joined array.
Example 1: Concatenate Two Arrays
import numpy as np
array1 = np.array( [ [1, 2], [3, 4] ] )
array2 = np.array( [[5, 6]] )
# concatenate the arrays along axis 0
concatenatedArray = np.concatenate((array1, array2))
print(concatenatedArray)
# concatenate the arrays along axis 0
concatenatedArray = np.concatenate((array1, array2), axis = 0)
print(concatenatedArray)
Output
[[1 2] [3 4] [5 6]] [[1 2] [3 4] [5 6]]
If we do not pass the axis
argument, the value of axis
will be 0 by default.
Example 2: Concatenate Two Arrays in Different Dimensions
import numpy as np
array1 = np.array([[[0, 1], [2, 3]], [[4, 5], [6, 7]]])
array2 = np.array([[[10, 11], [12, 13]], [[14, 15], [16, 17]]])
print('Joining the array when axis = 0')
# join the arrays at axis equal to 0
concatenatedArray = np.concatenate((array1, array2), 0)
print(concatenatedArray)
print('Joining the array when axis = 1')
# join the array at axis equal to 1
concatenatedArray = np.concatenate((array1, array2), 1)
print(concatenatedArray)
print('Joining the array when axis = 2')
# join the array at axis equal to 2
concatenatedArray = np.concatenate((array1, array2), 2)
print(concatenatedArray)
Output
Joining the array when axis = 0 [[[ 0 1] [ 2 3]] [[ 4 5] [ 6 7]] [[10 11] [12 13]] [[14 15] [16 17]]] Joining the array when axis = 1 [[[ 0 1] [ 2 3] [10 11] [12 13]] [[ 4 5] [ 6 7] [14 15] [16 17]]] Joining the array when axis = 2 [[[ 0 1 10 11] [ 2 3 12 13]] [[ 4 5 14 15] [ 6 7 16 17]]]
Example 3: Concatenate Flattened Arrays
If we pass None
as the axis
argument, concatenate()
flattens the arrays and concatenates them.
import numpy as np
array1 = np.array([[0, 1], [2, 3]])
array2 = np.array([[10, 11], [12, 13]])
# join the flat arrays
concatenatedArray = np.concatenate((array1, array2), None)
print(concatenatedArray)
Output
[ 0 1 2 3 10 11 12 13]
Note: We can also use numpy.append()
to concatenate arrays. However, unlike numpy.concatenate
, numpy.append
creates a new copy with appended values, making it less efficient.
Example 4: Return an Existing Array as Concatenated Array
In our previous examples, concatenate()
created a new array as a result.
However, passing an existing array as the
out
argument stores the resultant array as the given array.
import numpy as np
array1 = np.array([[0, 1], [2, 3]])
array2 = np.array([[10, 11], [12, 13]])
# create an array of shape (4, 2)
# and initialize all elements to 0
array3 = np.zeros((4, 2))
# join the arrays and store result in array3
np.concatenate((array1, array2), out = array3)
print(array3)
Output
[[ 0. 1.] [ 2. 3.] [10. 11.] [12. 13.]]
Notes:
- The shape of the output array must match the shape of the concatenated array otherwise, we will get an error.
- All the input array dimensions remain the same (except for the concatenation axis).
Example 5: Specify the Datatype of a Concatenated Array
We can change the data type of concatenated array by passing the dtype
argument.
import numpy as np
array1 = np.array([[0, 1], [2, 3]])
array2 = np.array([[10, 11], [12, 13]])
# change elements of the concatenated array to string
concatenatedArray = np.concatenate((array1, array2), dtype = str)
print(concatenatedArray)
Output
[['0' '1'] ['2' '3'] ['10' '11'] ['12' '13']]
Related NumPy Methods
- numpy.vstack() concatenates arrays along the axis 0.
- numpy.hstack() concatenates arrays along the axis 1.
- numpy.dstack() concatenates arrays along the axis 2.