Unnamed dimensions
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- Python
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Description
I'd like to build an xarray dataset with a couple of dozen variables. All of these variables share a common first dimension, which I want to name. Some of the arrays have other dimensions, but none of those dimensions are in common with any other arrays, and I don't want to ever refer to them by name.
Currently IIUC xarray requires that all dimensions are named, which forces me to invent names for all these other dimensions. This ends up with a dataset with lots of noise dimensions in it.
I tried using None as a dimension name, but xarray treated this just as any other dimension name, and complained when the lengths were not the same in different arrays.
Is there a way to create arrays and datasets with unnamed dimensions?
Thanks in advance.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by tracing xarray's array and dataset construction paths, then locate the dimension-name validation that rejects or aligns dimensions across variables. Determine whether the requested behavior can be specified consistently, and define done as supporting a shared named dimension while allowing other dimensions to remain unnamed without unintended length conflicts.
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Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- data
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100