Add set_xindex and drop_indexes methods (#6971)

* temporary API to set custom indexes

* add the temporary index API to DataArray

* add options argument to Index.from_variables()

It allows passing options to the constructor of a custom index class (if
any).

The **options arguments of Dataset.set_xindex() are passed through.

Also add type annotations to set_xindex().

* fix mypy

* remove temporary API warning

* add the Index class in Xarray's root namespace

* improve set_xindex docstrings and add to api.rst

* remove temp comments

* special case for pandas multi-index dim coord

* add tests for set_xindex

* error message tweaks

* set_xindex with 1 coord: avoid reodering coords

* mypy fixes

* add Dataset and DataArray drop_indexes methods

* improve assert_no_index_corrupted error msg

* drop_indexes: add tests

* add drop_indexes to api.rst

* improve docstrings of legacy methods

* add what's new entry

* try using correct typing w/o mypy complaining

* make index_cls arg optional

Try setting a pandas (multi-)index by default.

* docstrings fixes and tweaks

* make Index.from_variables options arg keyword only

* improve set_xindex invalid coordinates error msg

* add xarray.indexes namespace

* type tweaks

Co-authored-by: Keewis <keewis@posteo.de>

doc/api.rst

@@ -107,6 +107,7 @@ Dataset contents
    Dataset.swap_dims
    Dataset.expand_dims
    Dataset.drop_vars
+   Dataset.drop_indexes
    Dataset.drop_duplicates
    Dataset.drop_dims
    Dataset.set_coords
@@ -146,6 +147,7 @@ Indexing
    Dataset.reindex_like
    Dataset.set_index
    Dataset.reset_index
+   Dataset.set_xindex
    Dataset.reorder_levels
    Dataset.query
 
@@ -298,6 +300,7 @@ DataArray contents
    DataArray.swap_dims
    DataArray.expand_dims
    DataArray.drop_vars
+   DataArray.drop_indexes
    DataArray.drop_duplicates
    DataArray.reset_coords
    DataArray.copy
@@ -330,6 +333,7 @@ Indexing
    DataArray.reindex_like
    DataArray.set_index
    DataArray.reset_index
+   DataArray.set_xindex
    DataArray.reorder_levels
    DataArray.query
 
@@ -1080,13 +1084,19 @@ Advanced API
    Variable
    IndexVariable
    as_variable
+   indexes.Index
    Context
    register_dataset_accessor
    register_dataarray_accessor
    Dataset.set_close
    backends.BackendArray
    backends.BackendEntrypoint
 
+Default, pandas-backed indexes built-in Xarray:
+
+   indexes.PandasIndex
+   indexes.PandasMultiIndex
+
 These backends provide a low-level interface for lazily loading data from
 external file-formats or protocols, and can be manually invoked to create
 arguments for the ``load_store`` and ``dump_to_store`` Dataset methods:

doc/whats-new.rst

@@ -21,6 +21,11 @@ v2022.07.0 (unreleased)
 
 New Features
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+- Add :py:meth:`Dataset.set_xindex` and :py:meth:`Dataset.drop_indexes` and
+  their DataArray counterpart for setting and dropping pandas or custom indexes
+  given a set of arbitrary coordinates. (:pull:`6971`)
+  By `Benoît Bovy <https://github.com/benbovy>`_ and `Justus Magin <https://github.com/keewis>`_.
 - Enable taking the mean of dask-backed :py:class:`cftime.datetime` arrays
   (:pull:`6556`, :pull:`6940`).  By `Deepak Cherian
   <https://github.com/dcherian>`_ and `Spencer Clark

xarray/core/dataarray.py

@@ -2349,6 +2349,11 @@ def set_index(
         """Set DataArray (multi-)indexes using one or more existing
         coordinates.
 
+        This legacy method is limited to pandas (multi-)indexes and
+        1-dimensional "dimension" coordinates. See
+        :py:meth:`~DataArray.set_xindex` for setting a pandas or a custom
+        Xarray-compatible index from one or more arbitrary coordinates.
+
         Parameters
         ----------
         indexes : {dim: index, ...}
@@ -2393,6 +2398,7 @@ def set_index(
         See Also
         --------
         DataArray.reset_index
+        DataArray.set_xindex
         """
         ds = self._to_temp_dataset().set_index(indexes, append=append, **indexes_kwargs)
         return self._from_temp_dataset(ds)
@@ -2406,6 +2412,12 @@ def reset_index(
     ) -> DataArray:
         """Reset the specified index(es) or multi-index level(s).
 
+        This legacy method is specific to pandas (multi-)indexes and
+        1-dimensional "dimension" coordinates. See the more generic
+        :py:meth:`~DataArray.drop_indexes` and :py:meth:`~DataArray.set_xindex`
+        method to respectively drop and set pandas or custom indexes for
+        arbitrary coordinates.
+
         Parameters
         ----------
         dims_or_levels : Hashable or sequence of Hashable
@@ -2424,10 +2436,41 @@ def reset_index(
         See Also
         --------
         DataArray.set_index
+        DataArray.set_xindex
+        DataArray.drop_indexes
         """
         ds = self._to_temp_dataset().reset_index(dims_or_levels, drop=drop)
         return self._from_temp_dataset(ds)
 
+    def set_xindex(
+        self: T_DataArray,
+        coord_names: str | Sequence[Hashable],
+        index_cls: type[Index] | None = None,
+        **options,
+    ) -> T_DataArray:
+        """Set a new, Xarray-compatible index from one or more existing
+        coordinate(s).
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        coord_names : str or list
+            Name(s) of the coordinate(s) used to build the index.
+            If several names are given, their order matters.
+        index_cls : subclass of :class:`~xarray.indexes.Index`
+            The type of index to create. By default, try setting
+            a pandas (multi-)index from the supplied coordinates.
+        **options
+            Options passed to the index constructor.
+
+        Returns
+        -------
+        obj : DataArray
+            Another dataarray, with this dataarray's data and with a new index.
+
+        """
+        ds = self._to_temp_dataset().set_xindex(coord_names, index_cls, **options)
+        return self._from_temp_dataset(ds)
+
     def reorder_levels(
         self: T_DataArray,
         dim_order: Mapping[Any, Sequence[int | Hashable]] | None = None,
@@ -2738,6 +2781,31 @@ def drop_vars(
         ds = self._to_temp_dataset().drop_vars(names, errors=errors)
         return self._from_temp_dataset(ds)
 
+    def drop_indexes(
+        self: T_DataArray,
+        coord_names: Hashable | Iterable[Hashable],
+        *,
+        errors: ErrorOptions = "raise",
+    ) -> T_DataArray:
+        """Drop the indexes assigned to the given coordinates.
+
+        Parameters
+        ----------
+        coord_names : hashable or iterable of hashable
+            Name(s) of the coordinate(s) for which to drop the index.
+        errors : {"raise", "ignore"}, default: "raise"
+            If 'raise', raises a ValueError error if any of the coordinates
+            passed have no index or are not in the dataset.
+            If 'ignore', no error is raised.
+
+        Returns
+        -------
+        dropped : DataArray
+            A new dataarray with dropped indexes.
+        """
+        ds = self._to_temp_dataset().drop_indexes(coord_names, errors=errors)
+        return self._from_temp_dataset(ds)
+
     def drop(
         self: T_DataArray,
         labels: Mapping[Any, Any] | None = None,