[python] What does 'index 0 is out of bounds for axis 0 with size 0' mean?

I am new to both python and numpy. I ran a code that I wrote and I am getting this message: 'index 0 is out of bounds for axis 0 with size 0' Without the context, I just want to figure out what this means.. It might be silly to ask this but what do they mean by axis 0 and size 0? index 0 means the first value in the array.. but I can't figure out what axis 0 and size 0 mean.

The 'data' is a text file with lots of numbers in two columns.

x = np.linspace(1735.0,1775.0,100)
column1 = (data[0,0:-1]+data[0,1:])/2.0
column2 = data[1,1:]
x_column1 = np.zeros(x.size+2)
x_column1[1:-1] = x
x_column1[0] = x[0]+x[0]-x[1]
x_column1[-1] = x[-1]+x[-1]-x[-2]
experiment = np.zeros_like(x)
for i in range(np.size(x_edges)-2):
    indexes = np.flatnonzero(np.logical_and((column1>=x_column1[i]),(column1<x_column1[i+1])))
    temp_column2 = column2[indexes]
    temp_column2[0] -= column2[indexes[0]]*(x_column1[i]-column1[indexes[0]-1])/(column1[indexes[0]]-column1[indexes[0]-1])
    temp_column2[-1] -= column2[indexes[-1]]*(column1[indexes[-1]+1]-x_column1[i+1])/(column1[indexes[-1]+1]-column1[indexes[-1]])
    experiment[i] = np.sum(temp_column2)   
return experiment

This question is related to python numpy indexing error-handling index-error

The answer is


In numpy, index and dimension numbering starts with 0. So axis 0 means the 1st dimension. Also in numpy a dimension can have length (size) 0. The simplest case is:

In [435]: x = np.zeros((0,), int)
In [436]: x
Out[436]: array([], dtype=int32)
In [437]: x[0]
...
IndexError: index 0 is out of bounds for axis 0 with size 0

I also get it if x = np.zeros((0,5), int), a 2d array with 0 rows, and 5 columns.

So someplace in your code you are creating an array with a size 0 first axis.

When asking about errors, it is expected that you tell us where the error occurs.

Also when debugging problems like this, the first thing you should do is print the shape (and maybe the dtype) of the suspected variables.

Applied to pandas

Resolving the error:

  1. Use a try-except block
  2. Verify the size of the array is not 0
    • if x.size != 0:

Essentially it means you don't have the index you are trying to reference. For example:

df = pd.DataFrame()
df['this']=np.nan
df['my']=np.nan
df['data']=np.nan
df['data'][0]=5 #I haven't yet assigned how long df[data] should be!
print(df)

will give me the error you are referring to, because I haven't told Pandas how long my dataframe is. Whereas if I do the exact same code but I DO assign an index length, I don't get an error:

df = pd.DataFrame(index=[0,1,2,3,4])
df['this']=np.nan
df['is']=np.nan
df['my']=np.nan
df['data']=np.nan
df['data'][0]=5 #since I've properly labelled my index, I don't run into this problem!
print(df)

Hope that answers your question!


This is an IndexError in python, which means that we're trying to access an index which isn't there in the tensor. Below is a very simple example to understand this error.

# create an empty array of dimension `0`
In [14]: arr = np.array([], dtype=np.int64) 

# check its shape      
In [15]: arr.shape  
Out[15]: (0,)

with this array arr in place, if we now try to assign any value to some index, for example to the index 0 as in the case below

In [16]: arr[0] = 23     

Then, we will get an IndexError, as below:


IndexError                                Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-16-0891244a3c59> in <module>
----> 1 arr[0] = 23

IndexError: index 0 is out of bounds for axis 0 with size 0

The reason is that we are trying to access an index (here at 0th position), which is not there (i.e. it doesn't exist because we have an array of size 0).

In [19]: arr.size * arr.itemsize  
Out[19]: 0

So, in essence, such an array is useless and cannot be used for storing anything. Thus, in your code, you've to follow the traceback and look for the place where you're creating an array/tensor of size 0 and fix that.


Examples related to python

programming a servo thru a barometer Is there a way to view two blocks of code from the same file simultaneously in Sublime Text? python variable NameError Why my regexp for hyphenated words doesn't work? Comparing a variable with a string python not working when redirecting from bash script is it possible to add colors to python output? Get Public URL for File - Google Cloud Storage - App Engine (Python) Real time face detection OpenCV, Python xlrd.biffh.XLRDError: Excel xlsx file; not supported Could not load dynamic library 'cudart64_101.dll' on tensorflow CPU-only installation

Examples related to numpy

Unable to allocate array with shape and data type How to fix 'Object arrays cannot be loaded when allow_pickle=False' for imdb.load_data() function? Numpy, multiply array with scalar TypeError: only integer scalar arrays can be converted to a scalar index with 1D numpy indices array Could not install packages due to a "Environment error :[error 13]: permission denied : 'usr/local/bin/f2py'" Pytorch tensor to numpy array Numpy Resize/Rescale Image what does numpy ndarray shape do? How to round a numpy array? numpy array TypeError: only integer scalar arrays can be converted to a scalar index

Examples related to indexing

numpy array TypeError: only integer scalar arrays can be converted to a scalar index How to print a specific row of a pandas DataFrame? What does 'index 0 is out of bounds for axis 0 with size 0' mean? How does String.Index work in Swift Pandas KeyError: value not in index Update row values where certain condition is met in pandas Pandas split DataFrame by column value Rebuild all indexes in a Database How are iloc and loc different? pandas loc vs. iloc vs. at vs. iat?

Examples related to error-handling

must declare a named package eclipse because this compilation unit is associated to the named module Error:Failed to open zip file. Gradle's dependency cache may be corrupt What does 'index 0 is out of bounds for axis 0 with size 0' mean? What's the source of Error: getaddrinfo EAI_AGAIN? Error handling with try and catch in Laravel What does "Fatal error: Unexpectedly found nil while unwrapping an Optional value" mean? Raise error in a Bash script Javascript Uncaught TypeError: Cannot read property '0' of undefined Multiple values in single-value context IndexError: too many indices for array

Examples related to index-error

What does 'index 0 is out of bounds for axis 0 with size 0' mean?