MATLAB vs Mathematica

Overview

MATLAB

Stacks1.1K

Followers702

Votes37

Mathematica

Stacks142

Followers5

Votes7

MATLAB vs Mathematica: What are the differences?

Introduction:

When comparing MATLAB and Mathematica, it's important to understand their key differences in functionality and usage.

Syntax: MATLAB uses a more straightforward syntax, similar to traditional programming languages, making it easier for beginners to quickly grasp and write code. In contrast, Mathematica has a symbolic language, providing a vast array of powerful symbolic manipulation capabilities that are not readily available in MATLAB.
Application Suitability: MATLAB is primarily used for numerical computation and scientific computing tasks, such as matrix operations, signal processing, and visualization. On the other hand, Mathematica is designed for a broader range of applications, including symbolic computation, algebraic manipulation, and advanced mathematical modeling.
Graphics and Visualization: While MATLAB offers excellent 2D and 3D plotting tools for visualizing data and results, Mathematica provides more advanced and versatile graphical capabilities for creating complex visualizations and interactive graphics.
Symbolic Computation: One of the major distinctions between the two is Mathematica's superior symbolic computation abilities, allowing users to perform symbolic algebraic manipulations, calculus operations, and solve equations symbolically with ease, which may be more challenging in MATLAB.
Integration with Wolfram Alpha: Mathematica has built-in integration with Wolfram Alpha, allowing users to access a vast knowledge base, computational engine, and natural language processing capabilities directly within the software, providing an added layer of functionality that MATLAB lacks.
Cost and Licensing: MATLAB typically requires a paid license for commercial use, while Mathematica offers various licensing options, including free versions for personal use, making it more accessible to hobbyists and individuals without access to institutional resources.

In Summary, MATLAB and Mathematica differ in syntax, application suitability, graphics capabilities, symbolic computation, integration with external resources, and cost and licensing options.

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Detailed Comparison

MATLAB	Mathematica
Using MATLAB, you can analyze data, develop algorithms, and create models and applications. The language, tools, and built-in math functions enable you to explore multiple approaches and reach a solution faster than with spreadsheets or traditional programming languages, such as C/C++ or Java.	Wolfram, creators of the Wolfram Language, Wolfram\|Alpha, Mathematica, Development Platform, Data Science Platform, Finance Platform, SystemModeler...
Statistics
Stacks 1.1K	Stacks 142
Followers 702	Followers 5
Votes 37	Votes 7
Pros & Cons
Pros 20 Simulink 5 Model based software development 5 Functions, statements, plots, directory navigation easy 3 S-Functions 2 REPL Cons 2 Does not support named function arguments 2 Doesn't allow unpacking tuples/arguments lists with * 2 Parameter-value pairs syntax to pass arguments clunky 1 Costs a lot	Pros 1 Neural networks 1 Step-by-step 1 Brute Power 1 Awesome 1 Natural language computation Cons 1 A BIT slow 1 Licensed

What are some alternatives to MATLAB, Mathematica?

JavaScript

JavaScript is most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic,and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.

Python

Python is a general purpose programming language created by Guido Van Rossum. Python is most praised for its elegant syntax and readable code, if you are just beginning your programming career python suits you best.

PHP

Fast, flexible and pragmatic, PHP powers everything from your blog to the most popular websites in the world.

Ruby

Ruby is a language of careful balance. Its creator, Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, blended parts of his favorite languages (Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp) to form a new language that balanced functional programming with imperative programming.

Java

Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. There are lots of applications and websites that will not work unless you have Java installed, and more are created every day. Java is fast, secure, and reliable. From laptops to datacenters, game consoles to scientific supercomputers, cell phones to the Internet, Java is everywhere!

Golang

Go is expressive, concise, clean, and efficient. Its concurrency mechanisms make it easy to write programs that get the most out of multicore and networked machines, while its novel type system enables flexible and modular program construction. Go compiles quickly to machine code yet has the convenience of garbage collection and the power of run-time reflection. It's a fast, statically typed, compiled language that feels like a dynamically typed, interpreted language.

HTML5

HTML5 is a core technology markup language of the Internet used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. As of October 2014 this is the final and complete fifth revision of the HTML standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The previous version, HTML 4, was standardised in 1997.

C#

C# (pronounced "See Sharp") is a simple, modern, object-oriented, and type-safe programming language. C# has its roots in the C family of languages and will be immediately familiar to C, C++, Java, and JavaScript programmers.

Scala

Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. You can play with it by typing one-line expressions and observing the results. But you can also rely on it for large mission critical systems, as many companies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, or Intel do. To some, Scala feels like a scripting language. Its syntax is concise and low ceremony; its types get out of the way because the compiler can infer them.

Elixir

Elixir leverages the Erlang VM, known for running low-latency, distributed and fault-tolerant systems, while also being successfully used in web development and the embedded software domain.

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MATLAB vs Mathematica: What are the differences?

Introduction:

When comparing MATLAB and Mathematica, it's important to understand their key differences in functionality and usage.

Syntax: MATLAB uses a more straightforward syntax, similar to traditional programming languages, making it easier for beginners to quickly grasp and write code. In contrast, Mathematica has a symbolic language, providing a vast array of powerful symbolic manipulation capabilities that are not readily available in MATLAB.
Application Suitability: MATLAB is primarily used for numerical computation and scientific computing tasks, such as matrix operations, signal processing, and visualization. On the other hand, Mathematica is designed for a broader range of applications, including symbolic computation, algebraic manipulation, and advanced mathematical modeling.
Graphics and Visualization: While MATLAB offers excellent 2D and 3D plotting tools for visualizing data and results, Mathematica provides more advanced and versatile graphical capabilities for creating complex visualizations and interactive graphics.
Symbolic Computation: One of the major distinctions between the two is Mathematica's superior symbolic computation abilities, allowing users to perform symbolic algebraic manipulations, calculus operations, and solve equations symbolically with ease, which may be more challenging in MATLAB.
Integration with Wolfram Alpha: Mathematica has built-in integration with Wolfram Alpha, allowing users to access a vast knowledge base, computational engine, and natural language processing capabilities directly within the software, providing an added layer of functionality that MATLAB lacks.
Cost and Licensing: MATLAB typically requires a paid license for commercial use, while Mathematica offers various licensing options, including free versions for personal use, making it more accessible to hobbyists and individuals without access to institutional resources.

In Summary, MATLAB and Mathematica differ in syntax, application suitability, graphics capabilities, symbolic computation, integration with external resources, and cost and licensing options.