How to create an array with a specified number and specified length

New to Julia
1

I would like to create an array with the value of 430, which repeats 5 times, so the output would look approximately like (this is simulated output):

julia> CC
5-element Array{Float64,1}:
 430.0
 430.0
 430.0
 430.0
 430.0

I have tried using the example from here which looks like this

array = Array{Int64}(undef, 5)

and then specifying

CC = Array{Float64}(430.0, 5)

But this of course generates an error

ERROR: MethodError: no method matching Array{Float64,N} where N(::Float64, ::Int64)
Closest candidates are:
  Array{Float64,N} where N(::UndefInitializer, ::Int64) where T at boot.jl:408
  Array{Float64,N} where N(::UndefInitializer, ::Int64, ::Int64) where T at boot.jl:409
  Array{Float64,N} where N(::UndefInitializer, ::Int64, ::Int64, ::Int64) where T at boot.jl:410
  ...
Stacktrace:
 [1] top-level scope at none:0

Could someone please show me the correct way to do this?

2

You could use fill():

Julia-1.0.3> fill(430.0, 5)
5-element Array{Float64,1}:
 430.0
 430.0
 430.0
 430.0
 430.0
8 Likes
3 
c = Vector{Float64}(undef, 5)
fill!(c, 430.0)
1 Like
4

Also

430 * ones(5)
2 Likes
5

A very MATLAB-ish one, but please don’t recommend this to a beginner in Julia.

6

I am not recommending. I said “also.” It is available in Julia, so it is there. Otherwise, it shouldn’t be there.

1 Like
7

I suggest to use

c = [430 for i = 1:5]

1 Like
8

It would be good to follow this up with a reason. Being MATLAB-ish is not a good reason :slight_smile:

The ones solution creates a vector with the values 1.0, then multiplies each entry with 430, storing the result in a new array in the process. This is both slower and allocates more memory than the fill solution, and is clearly inferior in terms of performance.

However, for small sporadic arrays, or working in the REPL, this doesn’t really matter, and it is in fact the shortest way I know of to solve the problem, which makes it more convenient to type in the REPL :slight_smile:

fill(430.,5) # 12 characters
430ones(5)   # 10 characters

From a language-learning perspective, I also think it’s interesting to see different ways to solve a problem. Here are a few more, all approximately as efficient as fill for larger vectors, not as readable, but interesting nonetheless IMO:

1:5 .|>_-> 430.0

(_->430.0).(1:5)

[430.0 for _=1:5]

map(_->430.0, 1:5)
10 Likes
9

Or,

c = Vector{Float64}(undef, 5) 
c .= 430
2 Likes
10

Playing with benchmarking…

julia> using BenchmarkTools

julia> @btime fill(430.0,5);
  37.048 ns (1 allocation: 128 bytes)

julia> @btime begin
       c = Vector{Float64}(undef,5)
       fill!(c,430.0)
       end;
  37.198 ns (1 allocation: 128 bytes)

julia> @btime 430.0*ones(5);
  73.867 ns (2 allocations: 256 bytes)

julia> @btime [430.0 for i in 1:5];
  39.206 ns (1 allocation: 128 bytes)

julia> @btime [430.0 for i = 1:5];
  39.051 ns (1 allocation: 128 bytes)

julia> @btime 1:5 .|>_->430.0;
  33.333 ns (1 allocation: 128 bytes)

julia> @btime (_->430.0).(1:5);
  33.836 ns (1 allocation: 128 bytes)

julia> @btime [430.0 for _=1:5];
  39.658 ns (1 allocation: 128 bytes)

julia> @btime map(_->430.0,1:5);
  39.555 ns (1 allocation: 128 bytes)
3 Likes