Pandas Series: view() function

Create a new view of Pandas Series

The view() function is used to create a new view of the Series.

This function returns a new Series with a view of the same underlying values in memory, optionally reinterpreted with a new data type. The new data type must preserve the same size in bytes as to not cause index misalignment.

Syntax:

Series.view(self, dtype=None)

Returns: Series - A new Series object as a view of the same data in memory.

Example:

Python-Pandas Code:

import numpy as np
import pandas as pd
s = pd.Series([-2, -3, 0, 3, 2], dtype='int8')
s

Output:

0   -2
1   -3
2    0
3    3
4    2
dtype: int8

Example - The 8 bit signed integer representation of -1 is 0b11111111, but the same bytes represent 255 if read as an 8 bit unsigned integer:

Python-Pandas Code:

import numpy as np
import pandas as pd
s = pd.Series([-2, -3, 0, 3, 2], dtype='int8')
us = s.view('uint8')
us

Output:

0    254
1    253
2      0
3      3
4      2
dtype: uint8

Example - The views share the same underlying values:

Python-Pandas Code:

import numpy as np
import pandas as pd
s = pd.Series([-2, -3, 0, 3, 2], dtype='int8')
us = s.view('uint8')
us[0] = 128
s

Output:

0   -128
1     -3
2      0
3      3
4      2
dtype: int8

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