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  5. MATLAB vs Matplotlib

MATLAB vs Matplotlib

OverviewComparisonAlternatives

Overview

MATLAB
MATLAB
Stacks1.1K
Followers702
Votes37
Matplotlib
Matplotlib
Stacks1.6K
Followers336
Votes11

MATLAB vs Matplotlib: What are the differences?

Key Differences between MATLAB and Matplotlib

In this comparison, we will analyze the key differences between MATLAB and Matplotlib.

  1. Coding Syntax: One of the major differences between MATLAB and Matplotlib is their coding syntax. MATLAB uses a proprietary scripting language, whereas Matplotlib is a Python library that utilizes Python's syntax. This difference implies that MATLAB code cannot be directly executed in Matplotlib, and vice versa.

  2. Functionality: MATLAB offers a wide range of functionalities and toolboxes to handle mathematical and scientific computations, including signal processing, image processing, and control system design. On the other hand, Matplotlib focuses on creating high-quality data visualizations, making it a suitable library for data exploration and presentation tasks.

  3. Integration with Other Libraries: Matplotlib integrates seamlessly with other Python libraries such as NumPy and Pandas, which allows for efficient data handling and manipulation. MATLAB, however, requires additional toolboxes or manual efforts to integrate with external libraries and to achieve similar functionality.

  4. Cost of Usage: MATLAB is a commercial software that requires a paid license to access its full capabilities. In contrast, Matplotlib is an open-source library that is freely available and can be easily installed using Python's package manager. This cost difference makes Matplotlib more accessible to users with limited resources.

  5. Development Environment: MATLAB provides an integrated development environment (IDE) that offers a user-friendly interface, interactive debugging, and direct execution of code blocks. Matplotlib, being a Python library, primarily relies on third-party IDEs or notebooks (e.g., Jupyter) for coding and execution.

  6. Community Support: Python and its associated libraries, including Matplotlib, have a vast and active community of users and developers. This widespread support offers a wealth of resources such as forums, tutorials, and documentation, making it easier to troubleshoot issues and learn new techniques. While MATLAB also has a significant user community, its size and resources may be comparatively limited.

In summary, the key differences between MATLAB and Matplotlib lie in their coding syntax, functionalities, integration with other libraries, cost of usage, development environment, and community support.

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Detailed Comparison

MATLAB
MATLAB
Matplotlib
Matplotlib

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.

It is a Python 2D plotting library which produces publication quality figures in a variety of hardcopy formats and interactive environments across platforms. It can be used in Python scripts, the Python and IPython shells, the Jupyter notebook, web application servers, and four graphical user interface toolkits.

Statistics
Stacks
1.1K
Stacks
1.6K
Followers
702
Followers
336
Votes
37
Votes
11
Pros & Cons
Pros
  • 20
    Simulink
  • 5
    Functions, statements, plots, directory navigation easy
  • 5
    Model based software development
  • 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
  • 11
    The standard Swiss Army Knife of plotting
Cons
  • 5
    Lots of code

What are some alternatives to MATLAB, Matplotlib?

JavaScript

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

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

PHP

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

Ruby

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

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

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

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#

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

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

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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