How to convert numpy object array into str/unicode array?

Question

Update: In lastest version of numpy (e.g., v1.8.1), this is no longer a issue. All the methods mentioned here now work as excepted.

Original qu

Answer 1

I know this is an old question but in case anyone comes across it and is looking for an answer, try

c = a.astype('U')

and you should get the result you expect:

c = array([u'abc', u'12345'], dtype='