# slice
> Return a view of an input ndarray.
## Usage
```javascript
var slice = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/base/slice' );
```
#### slice( x, slice, strict, writable )
Returns a view of an input ndarray.
```javascript
var Slice = require( '@stdlib/slice/ctor' );
var MultiSlice = require( '@stdlib/slice/multi' );
var ndarray = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/ctor' );
var ndarray2array = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/to-array' );
var buffer = [ 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0 ];
var shape = [ 3, 2 ];
var strides = [ 2, 1 ];
var offset = 0;
var x = ndarray( 'generic', buffer, shape, strides, offset, 'row-major' );
// returns
var sh = x.shape;
// returns [ 3, 2 ]
var arr = ndarray2array( x );
// returns [ [ 1.0, 2.0 ], [ 3.0, 4.0 ], [ 5.0, 6.0 ] ]
var s0 = new Slice( null, null, -2 );
var s1 = new Slice( null, null, -1 );
var s = new MultiSlice( s0, s1 );
// returns
var y = slice( x, s, false, false );
// returns
sh = y.shape;
// returns [ 2, 2 ]
arr = ndarray2array( y );
// returns [ [ 6.0, 5.0 ], [ 2.0, 1.0 ] ]
```
The function accepts the following arguments:
- **x**: input ndarray.
- **slice**: a [`MultiSlice`][@stdlib/slice/multi] instance.
- **strict**: boolean indicating whether to enforce strict bounds checking.
- **writable**: boolean indicating whether a returned ndarray should be writable.
## Notes
- The `writable` parameter **only** applies to ndarray constructors supporting **read-only** instances.
## Examples
```javascript
var S = require( '@stdlib/slice/ctor' );
var E = require( '@stdlib/slice/multi' );
var array = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/array' );
var ndarray2array = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/to-array' );
var zeroTo = require( '@stdlib/array/base/zero-to' );
var slice = require( '@stdlib/ndarray/base/slice' );
// Alias `null` to allow for more compact indexing expressions:
var _ = null;
// Create a linear ndarray buffer:
var buf = zeroTo( 27 );
// Create an ndarray:
var x = array( buf, {
'shape': [ 3, 3, 3 ]
});
// Get each matrix...
var s1 = E( 0, _, _ );
var y1 = slice( x, s1, false, false );
// returns
var a1 = ndarray2array( y1 );
// returns [ [ 0, 1, 2 ], [ 3, 4, 5 ], [ 6, 7, 8 ] ]
var s2 = E( 1, _, _ );
var y2 = slice( x, s2, false, false );
// returns
var a2 = ndarray2array( y2 );
// returns [ [ 9, 10, 11 ], [ 12, 13, 14 ], [ 15, 16, 17 ] ]
var s3 = E( 2, _, _ );
var y3 = slice( x, s3, false, false );
// returns
var a3 = ndarray2array( y3 );
// returns [ [ 18, 19, 20 ], [ 21, 22, 23 ], [ 24, 25, 26 ] ]
// Reverse all elements:
var s = S( _, _, -1 );
var s4 = E( s, s, s );
var y4 = slice( x, s4, false, false );
// returns
var a4 = ndarray2array( y4 );
// returns [...]
// Get the second rows from each matrix:
var s5 = E( _, 1, _ );
var y5 = slice( x, s5, false, false );
// returns
var a5 = ndarray2array( y5 );
// returns [ [ 3, 4, 5 ], [ 12, 13, 14 ], [ 21, 22, 23 ] ]
// Get the second columns from each matrix:
var s6 = E( _, _, 1 );
var y6 = slice( x, s6, false, false );
// returns
var a6 = ndarray2array( y6 );
// returns [ [ 1, 4, 7 ], [ 10, 13, 16 ], [ 19, 22, 25 ] ]
```
[@stdlib/slice/multi]: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@stdlib/slice-multi