> However, requiring an explicit two-step process for any other casting
> (i.e. take a 1-D view, then a shaped view of that flat 1-D view) also
> sounds reasonable.
> 
> So I agree with Victor that 1-D bytes -> any shape/format and any
> shape/format -> 1-D bytes should be allowed, but I think we should
> hold off on allowing arbitrary transformations in a single step.

Converting to 1-D bytes is my main motivation for this feature request,
so I'm fine with such a limitation.

The point is to be able to do in Python what we can do in C, take an
arbitrary buffer and handle it as pure bytes (for I/O or cryptography
purposes, for example).