Utils
| import_(module) | Import a module, and issue a nice message to stderr if the module isn’t installed. | 
| ensure_type(val, dtype, ndim, name[, ...]) | Typecheck the size, shape and dtype of a numpy array, with optional casting. | 
| ilen(iterable) | Length of an iterator. | 
| timing([name]) | A timing context manager | 
| lengths_and_angles_to_box_vectors(a_length, ...) | Convert from the lengths/angles of the unit cell to the box vectors (Bravais vectors). | 
| box_vectors_to_lengths_and_angles(a, b, c) | Convert box vectors into the lengths and angles definining the box |