def shape(a):
try:<EOL><INDENT>result = a.shape<EOL><DEDENT>except AttributeError:<EOL><INDENT>result = asarray(a).shape<EOL><DEDENT>return result<EOL>
Return the shape of an array.

Parameters
----------
a : array_like
    Input array.

Returns
-------
shape : tuple of ints
    The elements of the shape tuple give the lengths of the
    corresponding array dimensions.

See Also
--------
alen
ndarray.shape : Equivalent array method.

Examples
--------
>>> np.shape(np.eye(3))
(3, 3)
>>> np.shape([[1, 2]])
(1, 2)
>>> np.shape([0])
(1,)
>>> np.shape(0)
()

>>> a = np.array([(1, 2), (3, 4)], dtype=[('x', 'i4'), ('y', 'i4')])
>>> np.shape(a)
(2,)
>>> a.shape
(2,)