MATLAB is a powerful, but proprietary, scientific programming language.
January 30, 2018
MATLAB is a powerful, but proprietary, scientific programming language.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with MATLAB
MATLAB is used by some departments in the sciences for numerical analysis and coding. Because it prioritizes linear algebra and uses 1-based indexing instead of 0-based indexing, it has the advantage of fast prototyping so that the science gets done quickly without getting bogged down in the details. The syntax is also readable for anyone with programming experience, which makes sharing algorithms much easier.
- Clear syntax, which makes your code readable even without much prior MATLAB experience.
- Everything is built around matrices, making higher level math much easier to work with.
- The in-built graphical features are polished and so don't require third party applications.
- MATLAB can be used for general purpose programming, but isn't calibrated for that.
- Individual licenses can be expensive.
- Error messages are not always clear.
- I received a paid student license which made my work much quicker, and so I'm happy with it.
- R, Python and Sql
MATLAB is very similar to R and Python, but has cleaner syntax than R and more in-built functionality than Python. However, both are free and therefore have that significant advantage over MATLAB.
SQL is simpler but much more limited in use.
SQL is simpler but much more limited in use.