def __init__(self, source, header=None, load=False, **kwargs):
"""
:Parameters:
source: str | ndarray
If source is a string, it is assumed to be a filename and an
attempt will be made to open the corresponding NIfTI file.
In case of an ndarray the array data will be used for the to be
created nifti image and a matching nifti header is generated.
If an object of a different type is supplied as 'source' a
ValueError exception will be thrown.
header: dict
Additional header data might be supplied. However,
dimensionality and datatype are determined from the ndarray and
not taken from a header dictionary.
load: Boolean
If set to True the image data will be loaded into memory. This
is only useful if loading a NIfTI image from file.
This flag is almost useless, as the data will be loaded
automatically whenever it is accessed.
**kwargs:
Additional stuff is passed to :class:`~nifti.format.NiftiFormat`.
"""
# setup all nifti header related stuff
NiftiFormat.__init__(self, source, header, **kwargs)
# where the data will go to
self._data = None
# load data
if type(source) == N.ndarray:
# assign data from source array
self._data = source[:]
elif type(source) in (str, unicode):
# only load image data from file if requested
if load:
self.load()
else:
raise ValueError, "Unsupported source type. Only NumPy arrays and filename " + "string are supported."
