from __future__ import division, absolute_import, print_function

__all__ = ['atleast_1d', 'atleast_2d', 'atleast_3d', 'vstack', 'hstack',
           'stack']

from . import numeric as _nx
from .numeric import asanyarray, newaxis
from .multiarray import normalize_axis_index

def atleast_1d(*arys):
    """
    Convert inputs to arrays with at least one dimension.

    Scalar inputs are converted to 1-dimensional arrays, whilst
    higher-dimensional inputs are preserved.

    Parameters
    ----------
    arys1, arys2, ... : array_like
        One or more input arrays.

    Returns
    -------
    ret : ndarray
        An array, or list of arrays, each with ``a.ndim >= 1``.
        Copies are made only if necessary.

    See Also
    --------
    atleast_2d, atleast_3d

    Examples
    --------
    >>> np.atleast_1d(1.0)
    array([ 1.])

    >>> x = np.arange(9.0).reshape(3,3)
    >>> np.atleast_1d(x)
    array([[ 0.,  1.,  2.],
           [ 3.,  4.,  5.],
           [ 6.,  7.,  8.]])
    >>> np.atleast_1d(x) is x
    True

    >>> np.atleast_1d(1, [3, 4])
    [array([1]), array([3, 4])]

    """
    res = []
    for ary in arys:
        ary = asanyarray(ary)
        if ary.ndim == 0:
            result = ary.reshape(1)
        else:
            result = ary
        res.append(result)
    if len(res) == 1:
        return res[0]
    else:
        return res

def atleast_2d(*arys):
    """
    View inputs as arrays with at least two dimensions.

    Parameters
    ----------
    arys1, arys2, ... : array_like
        One or more array-like sequences.  Non-array inputs are converted
        to arrays.  Arrays that already have two or more dimensions are
        preserved.

    Returns
    -------
    res, res2, ... : ndarray
        An array, or list of arrays, each with ``a.ndim >= 2``.
        Copies are avoided where possible, and views with two or more
        dimensions are returned.

    See Also
    --------
    atleast_1d, atleast_3d

    Examples
    --------
    >>> np.atleast_2d(3.0)
    array([[ 3.]])

    >>> x = np.arange(3.0)
    >>> np.atleast_2d(x)
    array([[ 0.,  1.,  2.]])
    >>> np.atleast_2d(x).base is x
    True

    >>> np.atleast_2d(1, [1, 2], [[1, 2]])
    [array([[1]]), array([[1, 2]]), array([[1, 2]])]

    """
    res = []
    for ary in arys:
        ary = asanyarray(ary)
        if ary.ndim == 0:
            result = ary.reshape(1, 1)
        elif ary.ndim == 1:
            result = ary[newaxis,:]
        else:
            result = ary
        res.append(result)
    if len(res) == 1:
        return res[0]
    else:
        return res

def atleast_3d(*arys):
    """
    View inputs as arrays with at least three dimensions.

    Parameters
    ----------
    arys1, arys2, ... : array_like
        One or more array-like sequences.  Non-array inputs are converted to
        arrays.  Arrays that already have three or more dimensions are
        preserved.

    Returns
    -------
    res1, res2, ... : ndarray
        An array, or list of arrays, each with ``a.ndim >= 3``.  Copies are
        avoided where possible, and views with three or more dimensions are
        returned.  For example, a 1-D array of shape ``(N,)`` becomes a view
        of shape ``(1, N, 1)``, and a 2-D array of shape ``(M, N)`` becomes a
        view of shape ``(M, N, 1)``.

    See Also
    --------
    atleast_1d, atleast_2d

    Examples
    --------
    >>> np.atleast_3d(3.0)
    array([[[ 3.]]])

    >>> x = np.arange(3.0)
    >>> np.atleast_3d(x).shape
    (1, 3, 1)

    >>> x = np.arange(12.0).reshape(4,3)
    >>> np.atleast_3d(x).shape
    (4, 3, 1)
    >>> np.atleast_3d(x).base is x.base  # x is a reshape, so not base itself
    True

    >>> for arr in np.atleast_3d([1, 2], [[1, 2]], [[[1, 2]]]):
    ...     print(arr, arr.shape)
    ...
    [[[1]
      [2]]] (1, 2, 1)
    [[[1]
      [2]]] (1, 2, 1)
    [[[1 2]]] (1, 1, 2)

    """
    res = []
    for ary in arys:
        ary = asanyarray(ary)
        if ary.ndim == 0:
            result = ary.reshape(1, 1, 1)
        elif ary.ndim == 1:
            result = ary[newaxis,:, newaxis]
        elif ary.ndim == 2:
            result = ary[:,:, newaxis]
        else:
            result = ary
        res.append(result)
    if len(res) == 1:
        return res[0]
    else:
        return res


def vstack(tup):
    """
    Stack arrays in sequence vertically (row wise).

    Take a sequence of arrays and stack them vertically to make a single
    array. Rebuild arrays divided by `vsplit`.

    This function continues to be supported for backward compatibility, but
    you should prefer ``np.concatenate`` or ``np.stack``. The ``np.stack``
    function was added in NumPy 1.10.

    Parameters
    ----------
    tup : sequence of ndarrays
        Tuple containing arrays to be stacked. The arrays must have the same
        shape along all but the first axis.

    Returns
    -------
    stacked : ndarray
        The array formed by stacking the given arrays.

    See Also
    --------
    stack : Join a sequence of arrays along a new axis.
    hstack : Stack arrays in sequence horizontally (column wise).
    dstack : Stack arrays in sequence depth wise (along third dimension).
    concatenate : Join a sequence of arrays along an existing axis.
    vsplit : Split array into a list of multiple sub-arrays vertically.

    Notes
    -----
    Equivalent to ``np.concatenate(tup, axis=0)`` if `tup` contains arrays that
    are at least 2-dimensional.

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

    >>> a = np.array([[1], [2], [3]])
    >>> b = np.array([[2], [3], [4]])
    >>> np.vstack((a,b))
    array([[1],
           [2],
           [3],
           [2],
           [3],
           [4]])

    """
    return _nx.concatenate([atleast_2d(_m) for _m in tup], 0)

def hstack(tup):
    """
    Stack arrays in sequence horizontally (column wise).

    Take a sequence of arrays and stack them horizontally to make
    a single array. Rebuild arrays divided by `hsplit`.

    This function continues to be supported for backward compatibility, but
    you should prefer ``np.concatenate`` or ``np.stack``. The ``np.stack``
    function was added in NumPy 1.10.

    Parameters
    ----------
    tup : sequence of ndarrays
        All arrays must have the same shape along all but the second axis.

    Returns
    -------
    stacked : ndarray
        The array formed by stacking the given arrays.

    See Also
    --------
    stack : Join a sequence of arrays along a new axis.
    vstack : Stack arrays in sequence vertically (row wise).
    dstack : Stack arrays in sequence depth wise (along third axis).
    concatenate : Join a sequence of arrays along an existing axis.
    hsplit : Split array along second axis.

    Notes
    -----
    Equivalent to ``np.concatenate(tup, axis=1)``

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

    """
    arrs = [atleast_1d(_m) for _m in tup]
    # As a special case, dimension 0 of 1-dimensional arrays is "horizontal"
    if arrs[0].ndim == 1:
        return _nx.concatenate(arrs, 0)
    else:
        return _nx.concatenate(arrs, 1)

def stack(arrays, axis=0):
    """
    Join a sequence of arrays along a new axis.

    The `axis` parameter specifies the index of the new axis in the dimensions
    of the result. For example, if ``axis=0`` it will be the first dimension
    and if ``axis=-1`` it will be the last dimension.

    .. versionadded:: 1.10.0

    Parameters
    ----------
    arrays : sequence of array_like
        Each array must have the same shape.
    axis : int, optional
        The axis in the result array along which the input arrays are stacked.

    Returns
    -------
    stacked : ndarray
        The stacked array has one more dimension than the input arrays.

    See Also
    --------
    concatenate : Join a sequence of arrays along an existing axis.
    split : Split array into a list of multiple sub-arrays of equal size.

    Examples
    --------
    >>> arrays = [np.random.randn(3, 4) for _ in range(10)]
    >>> np.stack(arrays, axis=0).shape
    (10, 3, 4)

    >>> np.stack(arrays, axis=1).shape
    (3, 10, 4)

    >>> np.stack(arrays, axis=2).shape
    (3, 4, 10)

    >>> a = np.array([1, 2, 3])
    >>> b = np.array([2, 3, 4])
    >>> np.stack((a, b))
    array([[1, 2, 3],
           [2, 3, 4]])

    >>> np.stack((a, b), axis=-1)
    array([[1, 2],
           [2, 3],
           [3, 4]])

    """
    arrays = [asanyarray(arr) for arr in arrays]
    if not arrays:
        raise ValueError('need at least one array to stack')

    shapes = set(arr.shape for arr in arrays)
    if len(shapes) != 1:
        raise ValueError('all input arrays must have the same shape')

    result_ndim = arrays[0].ndim + 1
    axis = normalize_axis_index(axis, result_ndim)

    sl = (slice(None),) * axis + (_nx.newaxis,)
    expanded_arrays = [arr[sl] for arr in arrays]
    return _nx.concatenate(expanded_arrays, axis=axis)

numpy/core/shape_base.py
from __future__ import division, absolute_import, print_function

__all__ = ['atleast_1d', 'atleast_2d', 'atleast_3d', 'vstack', 'hstack',
           'stack']

from . import numeric as _nx
from .numeric import asanyarray, newaxis
from .multiarray import normalize_axis_index

def atleast_1d(*arys):
    """
    Convert inputs to arrays with at least one dimension.

    Scalar inputs are converted to 1-dimensional arrays, whilst
    higher-dimensional inputs are preserved.

    Parameters
    ----------
    arys1, arys2, ... : array_like
        One or more input arrays.

    Returns
    -------
    ret : ndarray
        An array, or list of arrays, each with ``a.ndim >= 1``.
        Copies are made only if necessary.

    See Also
    --------
    atleast_2d, atleast_3d

    Examples
    --------
    >>> np.atleast_1d(1.0)
    array([ 1.])

    >>> x = np.arange(9.0).reshape(3,3)
    >>> np.atleast_1d(x)
    array([[ 0.,  1.,  2.],
           [ 3.,  4.,  5.],
           [ 6.,  7.,  8.]])
    >>> np.atleast_1d(x) is x
    True

    >>> np.atleast_1d(1, [3, 4])
    [array([1]), array([3, 4])]

    """
    res = []
    for ary in arys:
        ary = asanyarray(ary)
        if ary.ndim == 0:
            result = ary.reshape(1)
        else:
            result = ary
        res.append(result)
    if len(res) == 1:
        return res[0]
    else:
        return res

def atleast_2d(*arys):
    """
    View inputs as arrays with at least two dimensions.

    Parameters
    ----------
    arys1, arys2, ... : array_like
        One or more array-like sequences.  Non-array inputs are converted
        to arrays.  Arrays that already have two or more dimensions are
        preserved.

    Returns
    -------
    res, res2, ... : ndarray
        An array, or list of arrays, each with ``a.ndim >= 2``.
        Copies are avoided where possible, and views with two or more
        dimensions are returned.

    See Also
    --------
    atleast_1d, atleast_3d

    Examples
    --------
    >>> np.atleast_2d(3.0)
    array([[ 3.]])

    >>> x = np.arange(3.0)
    >>> np.atleast_2d(x)
    array([[ 0.,  1.,  2.]])
    >>> np.atleast_2d(x).base is x
    True

    >>> np.atleast_2d(1, [1, 2], [[1, 2]])
    [array([[1]]), array([[1, 2]]), array([[1, 2]])]

    """
    res = []
    for ary in arys:
        ary = asanyarray(ary)
        if ary.ndim == 0:
            result = ary.reshape(1, 1)
        elif ary.ndim == 1:
            result = ary[newaxis,:]
        else:
            result = ary
        res.append(result)
    if len(res) == 1:
        return res[0]
    else:
        return res

def atleast_3d(*arys):
    """
    View inputs as arrays with at least three dimensions.

    Parameters
    ----------
    arys1, arys2, ... : array_like
        One or more array-like sequences.  Non-array inputs are converted to
        arrays.  Arrays that already have three or more dimensions are
        preserved.

    Returns
    -------
    res1, res2, ... : ndarray
        An array, or list of arrays, each with ``a.ndim >= 3``.  Copies are
        avoided where possible, and views with three or more dimensions are
        returned.  For example, a 1-D array of shape ``(N,)`` becomes a view
        of shape ``(1, N, 1)``, and a 2-D array of shape ``(M, N)`` becomes a
        view of shape ``(M, N, 1)``.

    See Also
    --------
    atleast_1d, atleast_2d

    Examples
    --------
    >>> np.atleast_3d(3.0)
    array([[[ 3.]]])

    >>> x = np.arange(3.0)
    >>> np.atleast_3d(x).shape
    (1, 3, 1)

    >>> x = np.arange(12.0).reshape(4,3)
    >>> np.atleast_3d(x).shape
    (4, 3, 1)
    >>> np.atleast_3d(x).base is x.base  # x is a reshape, so not base itself
    True

    >>> for arr in np.atleast_3d([1, 2], [[1, 2]], [[[1, 2]]]):
    ...     print(arr, arr.shape)
    ...
    [[[1]
      [2]]] (1, 2, 1)
    [[[1]
      [2]]] (1, 2, 1)
    [[[1 2]]] (1, 1, 2)

    """
    res = []
    for ary in arys:
        ary = asanyarray(ary)
        if ary.ndim == 0:
            result = ary.reshape(1, 1, 1)
        elif ary.ndim == 1:
            result = ary[newaxis,:, newaxis]
        elif ary.ndim == 2:
            result = ary[:,:, newaxis]
        else:
            result = ary
        res.append(result)
    if len(res) == 1:
        return res[0]
    else:
        return res


def vstack(tup):
    """
    Stack arrays in sequence vertically (row wise).

    Take a sequence of arrays and stack them vertically to make a single
    array. Rebuild arrays divided by `vsplit`.

    This function continues to be supported for backward compatibility, but
    you should prefer ``np.concatenate`` or ``np.stack``. The ``np.stack``
    function was added in NumPy 1.10.

    Parameters
    ----------
    tup : sequence of ndarrays
        Tuple containing arrays to be stacked. The arrays must have the same
        shape along all but the first axis.

    Returns
    -------
    stacked : ndarray
        The array formed by stacking the given arrays.

    See Also
    --------
    stack : Join a sequence of arrays along a new axis.
    hstack : Stack arrays in sequence horizontally (column wise).
    dstack : Stack arrays in sequence depth wise (along third dimension).
    concatenate : Join a sequence of arrays along an existing axis.
    vsplit : Split array into a list of multiple sub-arrays vertically.

    Notes
    -----
    Equivalent to ``np.concatenate(tup, axis=0)`` if `tup` contains arrays that
    are at least 2-dimensional.

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

    >>> a = np.array([[1], [2], [3]])
    >>> b = np.array([[2], [3], [4]])
    >>> np.vstack((a,b))
    array([[1],
           [2],
           [3],
           [2],
           [3],
           [4]])

    """
    return _nx.concatenate([atleast_2d(_m) for _m in tup], 0)

def hstack(tup):
    """
    Stack arrays in sequence horizontally (column wise).

    Take a sequence of arrays and stack them horizontally to make
    a single array. Rebuild arrays divided by `hsplit`.

    This function continues to be supported for backward compatibility, but
    you should prefer ``np.concatenate`` or ``np.stack``. The ``np.stack``
    function was added in NumPy 1.10.

    Parameters
    ----------
    tup : sequence of ndarrays
        All arrays must have the same shape along all but the second axis.

    Returns
    -------
    stacked : ndarray
        The array formed by stacking the given arrays.

    See Also
    --------
    stack : Join a sequence of arrays along a new axis.
    vstack : Stack arrays in sequence vertically (row wise).
    dstack : Stack arrays in sequence depth wise (along third axis).
    concatenate : Join a sequence of arrays along an existing axis.
    hsplit : Split array along second axis.

    Notes
    -----
    Equivalent to ``np.concatenate(tup, axis=1)``

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

    """
    arrs = [atleast_1d(_m) for _m in tup]
    # As a special case, dimension 0 of 1-dimensional arrays is "horizontal"
    if arrs and arrs[0].ndim == 1:
        return _nx.concatenate(arrs, 0)
    else:
        return _nx.concatenate(arrs, 1)

def stack(arrays, axis=0):
    """
    Join a sequence of arrays along a new axis.

    The `axis` parameter specifies the index of the new axis in the dimensions
    of the result. For example, if ``axis=0`` it will be the first dimension
    and if ``axis=-1`` it will be the last dimension.

    .. versionadded:: 1.10.0

    Parameters
    ----------
    arrays : sequence of array_like
        Each array must have the same shape.
    axis : int, optional
        The axis in the result array along which the input arrays are stacked.

    Returns
    -------
    stacked : ndarray
        The stacked array has one more dimension than the input arrays.

    See Also
    --------
    concatenate : Join a sequence of arrays along an existing axis.
    split : Split array into a list of multiple sub-arrays of equal size.

    Examples
    --------
    >>> arrays = [np.random.randn(3, 4) for _ in range(10)]
    >>> np.stack(arrays, axis=0).shape
    (10, 3, 4)

    >>> np.stack(arrays, axis=1).shape
    (3, 10, 4)

    >>> np.stack(arrays, axis=2).shape
    (3, 4, 10)

    >>> a = np.array([1, 2, 3])
    >>> b = np.array([2, 3, 4])
    >>> np.stack((a, b))
    array([[1, 2, 3],
           [2, 3, 4]])

    >>> np.stack((a, b), axis=-1)
    array([[1, 2],
           [2, 3],
           [3, 4]])

    """
    arrays = [asanyarray(arr) for arr in arrays]
    if not arrays:
        raise ValueError('need at least one array to stack')

    shapes = set(arr.shape for arr in arrays)
    if len(shapes) != 1:
        raise ValueError('all input arrays must have the same shape')

    result_ndim = arrays[0].ndim + 1
    axis = normalize_axis_index(axis, result_ndim)

    sl = (slice(None),) * axis + (_nx.newaxis,)
    expanded_arrays = [arr[sl] for arr in arrays]
    return _nx.concatenate(expanded_arrays, axis=axis)

numpy/core/shape_base.py
diff --git a/doc/release/1.13.0-notes.rst b/doc/release/1.13.0-notes.rst
index 27e1d65d0080..8db9a69579d7 100644
--- a/doc/release/1.13.0-notes.rst
+++ b/doc/release/1.13.0-notes.rst
@@ -29,6 +29,12 @@ Future Changes
 Compatibility notes
 ===================
 
+
+Error type changes
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+``numpy.hstack()`` now throws ValueError instead of IndexError when input is empty.
+
 Tuple object dtypes
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
diff --git a/numpy/core/shape_base.py b/numpy/core/shape_base.py
index 22ed17836eae..32b3d4591c40 100644
--- a/numpy/core/shape_base.py
+++ b/numpy/core/shape_base.py
@@ -283,7 +283,7 @@ def hstack(tup):
     """
     arrs = [atleast_1d(_m) for _m in tup]
     # As a special case, dimension 0 of 1-dimensional arrays is "horizontal"
-    if arrs[0].ndim == 1:
+    if arrs and arrs[0].ndim == 1:
         return _nx.concatenate(arrs, 0)
     else:
         return _nx.concatenate(arrs, 1)
diff --git a/numpy/core/tests/test_shape_base.py b/numpy/core/tests/test_shape_base.py
index 727608a175fa..a42b08e48d5b 100644
--- a/numpy/core/tests/test_shape_base.py
+++ b/numpy/core/tests/test_shape_base.py
@@ -123,6 +123,9 @@ class TestHstack(TestCase):
     def test_non_iterable(self):
         assert_raises(TypeError, hstack, 1)
 
+    def test_empty_input(self):
+        assert_raises(ValueError, hstack, ())
+
     def test_0D_array(self):
         a = array(1)
         b = array(2)
@@ -149,6 +152,9 @@ class TestVstack(TestCase):
     def test_non_iterable(self):
         assert_raises(TypeError, vstack, 1)
 
+    def test_empty_input(self):
+        assert_raises(ValueError, vstack, ())
+
     def test_0D_array(self):
         a = array(1)
         b = array(2)

np.hstack([ ]) throws IndexError instead of ValueError
Calling `np.hstack([ ])` throws an `IndexError`. It takes a bit more work to find out the root cause of the error, ie: the empty list.
```
>>> import numpy as np
>>> np.hstack([ ])
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/numpy/core/shape_base.py", line 277, in hstack
    if arrs[0].ndim == 1:
IndexError: list index out of range
```

`np.vstack`, on the other hand, throws a more appropriate error.

```
>>> np.vstack([ ])
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/numpy/core/shape_base.py", line 230, in vstack
    return _nx.concatenate([atleast_2d(_m) for _m in tup], 0)
ValueError: need at least one array to concatenate
```

