def _check_shape(var, name, shape, shape2=None):
    r"""Check that <var> has shape <shape>; if false raise ValueError(name)"""
    varshape = np.shape(var)
    if shape != varshape:
        if shape2:
            if shape2 != varshape:
                print('* ERROR   :: Parameter ' + name + ' has wrong shape!' +
                      ' : ' + str(varshape) + ' instead of ' + str(shape) +
                      'or' + str(shape2) + '.')
                raise ValueError(name)
        else:
            print('* ERROR   :: Parameter ' + name + ' has wrong shape! : ' +
                  str(varshape) + ' instead of ' + str(shape) + '.')
            raise ValueError(name)