Numpy Center Function

Introduction

Numpy is a powerful library in the Python programming language that is used for working on arrays. One of the functions of the char module in Numpy is the center() function. The center() function is used to add padding to a given string or an array of strings in Numpy. This lab will take you through the step-by-step process of how to use center() function in Numpy.

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Import Numpy

First, we will import the Numpy library using the import keyword, and we will rename it as "np" for convenience purposes in coding.

import numpy as np

Create a String

We will create a sample string that we will use in the next step. The sample string is "Hello World!"

a1 = "Hello World!"

Using center() Function with a Single String

We will use the center() function with a single string. This function pads the given string on both left and right sides with the specified padding characters.

x = np.char.center(a1, 30, '*')
print("Padded string using center() function: ", x)

Output:

Padded string using center() function:  *******Hello World!*******

Create an Array of Strings

We will now create an array of strings that we will use in the next step. Here, we will create an array of three strings using the np.array() function.

arr = np.array(['Study', 'Online', 'Portal'])

Using center() Function with an Array of Strings

We will use the center() function with an array of strings. In this step, the function pads each string of the array on both left and right sides with the specified padding characters.

output = np.char.center(arr, 20, '~')
print("Padded array using center() function: \n", output)

Output:

Padded array using center() function:
 ['~~~~~Study~~~~~' '~~~~~Online~~~~~' '~~~~~Portal~~~~~']

Summary

In this lab, we learned how to use the center() function in Numpy to adding padding to strings or an array of strings. We covered two different code examples, showing the center() function in action for both a single string and an array of strings.