# init(span:shape:strides:) Initialize a view from a `Span`. ``` init(span: Span, shape: [Int], strides: [Int] = []) ``` ## Discussion The lifetime of the resulting view copies the lifetime of the provided span. Also note that the `shape/strides` must not be able to produce offsets that go outside of the range of `span`. As such, negative strides are not supported by this initializer. **Performance note**: Making an ndArray view from a normal VM pointer to be used as an input or backing of an [`InferenceFunction`](/documentation/CoreAI/InferenceFunction) could be a performance anti-pattern if you intend to pass the same underlying memory in repeatedly to many inferences. This can be a function of which compute units the model was specialized for. For example if the inference function runs compute on the GPU or Neural Engine, you may incur a copy of the view into the required memory primitive if it cannot be toll-free converted. - span: The span to be referenced by the resulting view. - shape: The shape of the resulting view. - strides: The strides of the resulting view. If left empty, they will be computed as contiguous row-major. --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)