Method to retrieve the array elements that fall within a bin.

binned_elements_finder.py

def binned_elements_finder(x, bin_limits):
    """ Given an array x, and a set of bin limits on x, 
    return an indexer and a set of slices for retrieiving the set of points 
    in x that lie in the i^th bin.
    
    Parameters 
    ----------
    x : array 
    
    bin_limits : array 
    
    Returns 
    -------
    x_sorted : array 
        The input array x after sorting on the bin indices
        
    slices : array
        List of slice objects. The i^th array element is a slice object that 
        allows you to access the points in x that fall in the i^th bin. 
        
    Examples 
    --------
    >>> x = np.logspace(-1, 1, 1e6)
    >>> bin_limits = np.linspace(0, 10, 5)
    >>> x_sorted, slices = binned_elements_finder(x, bin_limits)
    
    The elements of x that reside in the i^th bin can be accessed as follows:
    >>> x_bini = x_sorted[slices[i]]

    """
    indexsort = np.argsort(x)
    boundary_pts = np.searchsorted(x, bin_limits, sorter=indexsort)
    slices = [slice(boundary_pts[i], boundary_pts[i+1]) for i in range(len(boundary_pts)-1)]
    return (x[indexsort], slices)