def cminus(a, b):
<EOL>spa = sps.issparse(a)<EOL>spb = sps.issparse(b)<EOL>if not spa: a = np.asarray(a)<EOL>if not spb: b = np.asarray(b)<EOL>if   spa: b = np.reshape(b, (<NUM_LIT:1>,<NUM_LIT:1>)) if len(np.shape(b)) == <NUM_LIT:0> else b<EOL>elif spb: a = np.reshape(a, (<NUM_LIT:1>,<NUM_LIT:1>)) if len(np.shape(a)) == <NUM_LIT:0> else a<EOL>return a - b<EOL>
cminus(a, b) returns the difference a - b as a numpy array object. Like numpy's subtract
  function or a - b syntax, minus will thread over the latest dimension possible.