Function median

numpy/lib/function_base.py:3846–3928

Compute the median along the specified axis. Returns the median of the array elements. Parameters ---------- a : array_like Input array or object that can be converted to an array. axis : {int, sequence of int, None}, optional Axis or axes along which the m

(a, axis=None, out=None, overwrite_input=False, keepdims=False)

@array_function_dispatch(_median_dispatcher)
def median(a, axis=None, out=None, overwrite_input=False, keepdims=False):
    """
    Compute the median along the specified axis.

    Returns the median of the array elements.

    Parameters
    ----------
    a : array_like
        Input array or object that can be converted to an array.
    axis : {int, sequence of int, None}, optional
        Axis or axes along which the medians are computed. The default
        is to compute the median along a flattened version of the array.
        A sequence of axes is supported since version 1.9.0.
    out : ndarray, optional
        Alternative output array in which to place the result. It must
        have the same shape and buffer length as the expected output,
        but the type (of the output) will be cast if necessary.
    overwrite_input : bool, optional
       If True, then allow use of memory of input array `a` for
       calculations. The input array will be modified by the call to
       `median`. This will save memory when you do not need to preserve
       the contents of the input array. Treat the input as undefined,
       but it will probably be fully or partially sorted. Default is
       False. If `overwrite_input` is ``True`` and `a` is not already an
       `ndarray`, an error will be raised.
    keepdims : bool, optional
        If this is set to True, the axes which are reduced are left
        in the result as dimensions with size one. With this option,
        the result will broadcast correctly against the original `arr`.

        .. versionadded:: 1.9.0

    Returns
    -------
    median : ndarray
        A new array holding the result. If the input contains integers
        or floats smaller than ``float64``, then the output data-type is
        ``np.float64``.  Otherwise, the data-type of the output is the
        same as that of the input. If `out` is specified, that array is
        returned instead.

    See Also
    --------
    mean, percentile

    Notes
    -----
    Given a vector ``V`` of length ``N``, the median of ``V`` is the
    middle value of a sorted copy of ``V``, ``V_sorted`` - i
    e., ``V_sorted[(N-1)/2]``, when ``N`` is odd, and the average of the
    two middle values of ``V_sorted`` when ``N`` is even.

    Examples
    --------
    >>> a = np.array([[10, 7, 4], [3, 2, 1]])
    >>> a
    array([[10,  7,  4],