Why Python is Better than Matlab

Do you know why Python is better than Matlab?

Matlab is almost entirely limited to the computer lab.

I think that's the source of the name.

Matlab is difficult for beginners.

So are mainstream languages like Java and JavaScript.

If you want challenging, try Objective C or C++, though Matlab is almost as bad.

Why do you consider Python better than Matlab?

Matlab excels at numeric computing if you can convert it to something Matlab can handle. Matlab is not good at user interfaces much less accepting data input from a website.

It is a major application in some labs.

Matlab is not as good for scientific computing but can be used for basic correlations and modeling. The math gurus may use Matlab, but you'd be surprised by how many use Maple for advanced data analysis.

I've heard that is competition for Matlab along with Mathematica.

But those software packages do not try to make you code. And Matlab coding is a lot of work.

Why do you think Python is better?

You can not use Matlab for text processing. You are not going to build a chat bot or web mail or blog using Matlab.

I do not consider that a downside.

You can not use Matlab for command line apps or managing devices. You can not use Matlab to write a server app or a mobile app.

So you think I should learn the language with more uses.

You'll be more useful to a lot of companies. That translates to higher pay rates.

Matlab is widely used.

Try finding a job for it outside of the computer lab on a college campus or an academic post-doc position that pays chicken feed. Or rat feed, or whatever else they pay starving students these days.

You do not think much of Matlab. And you do not think I would have much of a future if I use it.

Python is more likely to be around in thirty years, because it is used for so many more things. You can learn Matlab to ace your math or science classes, but learn Python to get a job.

[non-hyphenated]

I am a computational neuroscientist and regularly use both python and matlab, and while I think that python does have many advantages over matlab, this video does not do a good job highlighting those aspects. Also some of the things it does mention are, in my opinion, not very accurate. First, matlab is much easier for beginners than python - mainly because Matlab installs like a typical application, and its IDE is much easier for beginners to get up and running. Also the debugging features of Matlab are far better than Python. "Matlab is not good at user interfaces" - matlab has a built-in GUI creator.  "You can not use Matlab for command line apps or managing devices." Both of these are simply false. In fact, Matlab is excellent at managing devices like Arduino, Xbox Connect, and can interface with almost any generic USB or serial device. "Matlab is not as good for scientific computing" - pffft. "You can not use Matlab for text processing." - Matlab has GREP text processing, so I'm not sure what this is referring to. "You are not going to build a chat bot or web mail or blog using Matlab." - This is true; however I wouldn't use python for for web-related applications either. The video actually doesn't mention the one obvious major advantage of python over matlab is the fact that python is free.

[Mamd]

Matlab is not for making applications, It is rather a computation language with easy syntax used in engineering calculations, data processing and research. If you want to make "chat bot" matlab is not the choice.

[stingray]

Python is wholly unsuited for the things Matlab specializes in. This is just as stupid as someone comparing a waffle maker to a microwave and concluding that the microwave is better because a waffle maker can't cook a hot dog. Why make such a pointless comparison in the first place?

[airman]

Companies that use Matlab extensively: UTC, Honeywell, Boeing, Cessna, Intel, BAE, basically any engineering firm.

Companies that use Python for anything other than making small tools for internal use: None that I've encountered.

Limitations of Matlab: Cannot do web development.  That's literally it.  Matlab can be compiled with the proper plugin, can interface with devices easily with a simple library for the device desired (can be developed in-house as well), can analyze complex mathematics (particularly useful for multi-dimensional dynamics calculations that can be vectorized).

I personally like Python, but saying it's better than Matlab is like saying a hammer is better than a saw.  They're two different tools for two different things.

For instance, I probably wouldn't use Matlab for parsing text files; I'd use Python (and do quite frequently for that very task).  But I definitely wouldn't use Python for math-related tasks (I've tried this, and there are some libraries that make it tolerable, but it is still VERY slow in comparison).

[Jorge-vvcy]

Comparing matlab against python is like comparing a screwdriver against a torx key. They are similar but designed for diferent tasks. I dont think they are really comparable because of that.

Another thing is that matlab can do text processing.

[soloondotnet]

This video is silly and misinformed. MATLAB is a finely tuned collection of packages for scientific computing. Python has been adapted for that purpose just as C++ or C# can be, but MATLAB's syntax and environment is more friendly towards data science generally. However, I believe both approaches are valid, and if you are comfortable with Python, good for you! But the comparisons in this video totally miss the whole point of scientific computing.

[astrocreep]

do you have to use these horrible horrible animations and robotic voices? I would prefer a slideshow and a normal voice. If you don't like your voice, there are programs out there that can change your voice.

[bjornschmolck]

Lots of banks use Matlab. But that is not a job lol

[maudentable]

This video is, total Bullshit marketing crap, Python is such a limited tool on its own, and you cant compare Py\_t\_ho\rn\y to Matlab. Imagine the number of modules and import commands you have to download, import install or wherever, just to make it 20% of Matlab (No Simulink modules yet). We engineers know what is best Matlab.

[plechium]

That video and animation is one big meme

[darleyt]

matlab is for dinosaurs, python is the future!

[artemsmirnov]

Bullshit! MATLAB is much, much simpler than C.