Matlab: exp(-i*pi*[0 0.5 1]) Python: import cmath import numpy as np np.exp(-1j*cmath.pi*np.array([0, 0.5, 1])) Note that you can't use math

Matlab: exp(-i*pi*[0 0.5 1]) Python: import cmath import numpy as np np.exp(-1j*cmath.pi*np.array([0, 0.5, 1])) Note that you can't use math.exp for complex numbers, and neither math.exp nor cmath.exp works for arrays, you need the separate np.exp. Also, while np.exp actually works on lists, the multiplication doesn't, so you need to keep in mind which variables are python lists (that you mostly cannot do arithmetic on) and which are numpy arrays. When you are experienced in Python, you know these differences by heart. But if you are a domain specialist and want to test an idea quickly, you will see lots of TypeError messages from Python, you need to google manuals to sort it out, and it will slow you down 10x.