# broadcastArrayExceptDimensions
> Broadcast an input [ndarray][@stdlib/ndarray/base/ctor] to a target shape while keeping a list of specified dimensions unchanged.
## Usage
```javascript
var broadcastArrayExceptDimensions = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/base/broadcast-array-except-dimensions' );
```
#### broadcastArrayExceptDimensions( arr, shape, dims )
Broadcasts an input [ndarray][@stdlib/ndarray/base/ctor] to a target shape while keeping a list of specified dimensions unchanged.
```javascript
var array = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/array' );
var getShape = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/shape' );
// Create a 2x2 ndarray:
var x = array( [ [ 1, 2 ], [ 3, 4 ] ] );
// returns
// Perform broadcasting:
var y = broadcastArrayExceptDimensions( x, [ 3, 2, 2 ], [ -1 ] );
// returns
var ysh = getShape( y );
// returns [ 3, 2, 2 ]
```
The function accepts the following arguments:
- **arr**: input ndarray.
- **shape**: target shape.
- **dims**: list of dimensions to exclude from broadcasting. Should be a list of negative integers.
## Notes
- The function throws an error if a provided [ndarray][@stdlib/ndarray/base/ctor] is [incompatible][@stdlib/ndarray/base/broadcast-shapes] with a provided shape.
- The returned [ndarray][@stdlib/ndarray/base/ctor] is a "base" [ndarray][@stdlib/ndarray/base/ctor], and, thus, the returned [ndarray][@stdlib/ndarray/base/ctor] does not perform bounds checking or afford any of the guarantees of the non-base [ndarray][@stdlib/ndarray/ctor] constructor. The primary intent of this function is to broadcast an ndarray-like object within internal implementations and to do so with minimal overhead.
- The function always returns a new [ndarray][@stdlib/ndarray/base/ctor] instance even if the input [ndarray][@stdlib/ndarray/base/ctor] shape and the desired shape are the same.
## Examples
```javascript
var array = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/array' );
var numel = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/base/numel' );
var ind2sub = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/ind2sub' );
var getShape = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/shape' );
var broadcastArrayExceptDimensions = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/base/broadcast-array-except-dimensions' );
// Create a 1x3 array:
var x = array( [ [ 1, 2, 3 ] ] );
// returns
// Broadcast the array to 2x1x3:
var y = broadcastArrayExceptDimensions( x, [ 2, 2, 3 ], [ -2 ] );
// returns
// Retrieve the shape:
var sh = getShape( y );
// returns [ 2, 1, 3 ]
// Retrieve the number of elements:
var N = numel( sh );
// Loop through the array elements...
var sub;
var v;
var i;
for ( i = 0; i < N; i++ ) {
v = y.iget( i );
sub = ind2sub( sh, i );
console.log( 'Y[%s] = %d', sub.join( ', ' ), v );
}
```
[@stdlib/ndarray/ctor]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/ndarray/tree/main/ctor
[@stdlib/ndarray/base/ctor]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/ndarray/tree/main/base/ctor
[@stdlib/ndarray/base/broadcast-shapes]: https://github.com/stdlib-js/ndarray/tree/main/base/broadcast-shapes