Empty dataframe does not keep index name when index is used

[MarekHauzr]

Empty dataframe does not keep index name when index is used

import pandas as pd
df = pd.DataFrame({'a': [], 'b':[], 'c': []})
df = df.set_index('c')
print(df.index.name) # prints 'c'
# using index to generate new column
df['d'] = df.index
# looking at the name of the index
print(df.index.name) # shows None

Problem description

I tested this for pandas==0.24.2

When generating a new column based on the data in index (not necessarily equality but any transformation of the index) I lose the index name in a special case where the dataframe is empty.

It becomes a problem when I reset the index and it becomes a column with name index instead of c.

Expected Output

Expected output is 'c' in both cases (before and after using the index).

Output of pd.show_versions()

INSTALLED VERSIONS

commit: None
python: 3.7.0.final.0
python-bits: 64
OS: Linux
OS-release: 4.15.0-47-generic
machine: x86_64
processor: x86_64
byteorder: little
LC_ALL: en_US.utf-8
LANG: en_US.utf-8
LOCALE: en_US.UTF-8

pandas: 0.24.2
pytest: 3.1.3
pip: 19.0.3
setuptools: 40.5.0
Cython: 0.29
numpy: 1.15.1
scipy: 1.1.0
pyarrow: None
xarray: None
IPython: 7.1.1
sphinx: 1.8.2
patsy: 0.5.1
dateutil: 2.7.5
pytz: 2018.7
blosc: None
bottleneck: None
tables: None
numexpr: None
feather: None
matplotlib: 3.0.1
openpyxl: None
xlrd: None
xlwt: None
xlsxwriter: None
lxml.etree: 4.2.5
bs4: 4.6.3
html5lib: None
sqlalchemy: 1.2.12
pymysql: None
psycopg2: 2.7.5 (dt dec pq3 ext lo64)
jinja2: 2.10
s3fs: None
fastparquet: None
pandas_gbq: None
pandas_datareader: None
gcsfs: Non

[TomAugspurger]

Duplicate of #17101

Somewhere in the DataFrame.__setitem__ call, we convert the length-zero Index to a RangeIndex. LMK if you're interested in fixing!

[MarekHauzr]

@TomAugspurger Yes, I'd be interested in fixing it. It would make my life a little bit easier and I think I'm not the only one. I will be available in few days, so I can have a look at it then. Is there a standardized process to do this?

[TomAugspurger]

http://pandas-docs.github.io/pandas-docs-travis/development/contributing.html Should have everything.

…

________________________________ From: MarekHauzr <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, May 10, 2019 6:49 AM To: pandas-dev/pandas Cc: Tom Augspurger; Mention Subject: Re: [pandas-dev/pandas] Empty dataframe does not keep index name when index is used (#26325) @TomAugspurger<https://github.com/TomAugspurger> Yes, I'd be interested in fixing it. It would make my life a little bit easier and I think I'm not the only one. I will be available in few days, so I can have a look at it then. Is there a standardized process to do this? — You are receiving this because you were mentioned. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub<#26325 (comment)>, or mute the thread<https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AAKAOIS7L7JTHOQJKW4YQGTPUVOLLANCNFSM4HLY776A>.