Python vs Matlab: Which language is right for you?

Python and Matlab are two pro­gram­ming languages with very different ap­proaches. Python’s open-source approach and flex­ib­il­ity will make it the better choice in most cases.

What are Python and Matlab?

If you’re thinking of learning pro­gram­ming, you’ll have many languages to choose from. Which language is the best for you will depend on a number of factors, including the nature of your project. If you work in academia and par­tic­u­larly in maths, you’ll have two main options, which are Matlab and Python. While the two languages do have a few things in common, they are ul­ti­mately very different. In this article, we’ll show which language comes out ahead.

What are the ad­vant­ages and dis­ad­vant­ages of Matlab?

Before comparing Python and Matlab, it will be useful to look at their purposes. The two languages have very different uses. Matlab is a pro­pri­et­ary software and language that was developed by Cleve Moler at the Uni­ver­sity of New Mexico (UNM). In 1984, Moler released the language with Steve Bangert and Jack Little under the company name The MathWorks. It was primarily aimed at students, and they are still one of the main target groups for the language. Busi­nesses also use Matlab and its various toolboxes. The language’s name comes from ‘Matrix Labor­at­ory’.

Matlab is mainly used for solving math­em­at­ic­al problems and dis­play­ing solutions graph­ic­ally. The language was ori­gin­ally intended to be used with the Fortran libraries LINPACK and EISPACK and is meant to enable students without any knowledge of pro­gram­ming to get started in linear algebra. Nowadays Matlab is used for numerical sim­u­la­tions, data analysis and pre­dict­ive analytics. The language can be cus­tom­ised for different use cases with toolboxes and is in­ter­preted on the user’s computer. In addition to the language itself, the software also includes a graphic desktop en­vir­on­ment. The free libraries LAPACK and BLAS have been used instead of LINPACK and EISPACK since 2000.

Ad­vant­ages of Matlab

• User friend­li­ness: Matlab was ori­gin­ally conceived as a tool for students. This approach is still no­tice­able today. After a little bit of an in­tro­duc­tion, you’ll quickly find your way in the language. Even projects like a com­pre­hens­ive data analysis can be completed without a deep knowledge of pro­gram­ming. Matlab is a full package, after all, that also includes a graphic user interface. You will, however, need extensive knowledge of maths to make the most of the language.
• Ver­sat­il­ity: Within its intended areas of use, the language works beau­ti­fully as a cus­tom­is­able solution. With its various toolboxes, Matlab proves helpful in the areas of maths, data analysis, biology, en­gin­eer­ing and finance and makes day-to-day work sig­ni­fic­antly easier.
• Speed: Matlab has a very fast pro­cessing speed, thanks to its focus on the es­sen­tials. Analyses are carried out and il­lus­trated quickly. Larger data sets don’t pose a problem. Code can also be created very quickly. The in­ter­act­ive interface makes it easy to catch and fix mistakes.
• Simulink: Simulink is another one of The MathWorks’s softwares and works ex­clus­ively with Matlab. It can simulate systems from the areas of loop testing, rapid pro­to­typ­ing, robotics, signal pro­cessing and control en­gin­eer­ing. The program is par­tic­u­larly high per­form­ing and is used by a number of companies.
• Community: Matlab is a language with a long and important history. The community sur­round­ing the language might not be as large as other languages’ com­munit­ies but it’s made up of true experts that are fully devoted to it. So you’re sure to find valuable in­form­a­tion should you run into errors, bugs or other problems.

Dis­ad­vant­ages of Matlab

• Cost: Matlab is a pro­pri­et­ary software. While its price can be well worth it, es­pe­cially for busi­nesses, there are a number of languages that are com­pletely free. The various toolboxes also need to be purchased in­di­vidu­ally. This means beginners who just want to learn how to program are likely to seek a free al­tern­at­ive. It’s re­l­at­ively rare that private users purchase a license to Matlab.
• Port­ab­il­ity: In theory it’s possible to use Matlab on more than one computer, but the options are limited. This means that you’ll usually only be able to access your code on one machine. The MCR app (Matlab Component Runtime) has a number of lim­it­a­tions.
• Functions and al­gorithms: While it takes re­l­at­ively little training to get started in Matlab, you might run into a number of difficult hurdles down the line. To find the right solutions, you’ll need to identify the right functions and al­gorithms in advance, acquire them and then implement them. If you don’t pull that off, you could run into a lot of costs and delays.
• Memory use: Matlab uses a re­l­at­ively small amount of memory, which can lead to problems when pro­cessing larger data sets. In that case, a lot more memory is needed and you’ll need to consider this in advance to avoid bot­tle­necks.

What are the ad­vant­ages and dis­ad­vant­ages of Python?

Python is a bit newer than Matlab and takes a com­pletely different approach. It was developed in 1991 by Guido van Rossum with a focus on simple code. The idea is to work with re­l­at­ively few words and char­ac­ters to produce code that makes sense even after just a quick look at it. The language maintains this approach today, as well as its free and open-source model. It’s now managed and developed by the Python Software Found­a­tion, though countless users modify it to suit their own purposes. Python is dynamic, object oriented, in­ter­preted and platform in­de­pend­ent.

Ad­vant­ages of Python

• Open source: One of the biggest ad­vant­ages of Python is that it’s open source. That means that it’s not only com­pletely free but also that users can develop it to suit their needs.
• Ver­sat­il­ity: That leads to a lot of vari­ab­il­ity. Python is used in a variety of fields and by large companies like Google, Spotify and Netflix. Private in­di­vidu­als and smaller busi­nesses can also benefit from the language. Some frequent uses for it are AI, software de­vel­op­ment and web apps.
• Learning curve: Python was designed to fa­cil­it­ate fast success and optimal workflows. The language is very simple and clearly struc­tured. After just a few Python tutorials, beginners can write their own code and implement projects. Python is probably the simplest well-known pro­gram­ming language out there and is suited to a variety of use cases.
• Port­ab­il­ity: Python is a very flexible pro­gram­ming language. That’s true not only because of its various uses but also because it’s in­de­pend­ent of any one operating system. It’s no problem to write code on one platform and then open it up on another. This also fa­cil­it­ates col­lab­or­a­tion in teams.
• Community: Python has a huge community. The community is con­stantly de­vel­op­ing the language, creating doc­u­ment­a­tion and fixing bugs. They’re also there to help beginners and make it even easier to get started.

Dis­ad­vant­ages of Python

• Speed: Python’s dynamic approach can mean that it’s not as fast as it could be. This means it’s not the best language for big projects with com­pre­hens­ive data sets. Other languages perform sig­ni­fic­antly better.
• Ex­ten­sions: If you plan on using Python for academic work, you’ll need a number of ex­ten­sions. That includes packages like Numpy and Scipy and an in­teg­rated de­vel­op­ment en­vir­on­ment. These ex­ten­sions are free but need to be im­ple­men­ted.
• Mobile devices: Python isn’t well suited for working with mobile devices, so it’s rarely used for pro­gram­ming apps. It also doesn’t offer native com­pat­ib­il­ity with iOS or Android.

What’s the dif­fer­ence between Python and Matlab?

Now that we’ve looked at Python and Matlab in­di­vidu­ally, let’s take a look at the dif­fer­ences between the two of them.

Syntax

The biggest dif­fer­ence between Python and Matlab is their syntax. The basic syntax of Matlab looks as follows:

% A MATLAB program illustrate
% disp function
disp ("This is Matlab")

And Python looks like this:

>>> print("This is Python.")

More dif­fer­ences

• Ecosystem: Python has an in­ter­pret­er and a standard library. Ad­di­tion­al com­pon­ents need to be added. This is also true of the de­vel­op­ment en­vir­on­ment. There are a number of ex­ten­sions for academic work. Matlab is only available as a package that includes the language itself and the de­vel­op­ment en­vir­on­ment. Ad­di­tion­al features need to be added as toolboxes.
• De­vel­op­ment: Python is con­stantly being revised and modified by the community, and any user can adapt the language to suit their needs. Updates and changes to Matlab are made ex­clus­ively by The MathWorks.
• Open source: Matlab is not open source, while Python is. You need to pay for Matlab to use it, and a license can cost several thousand pounds. Python, on the other hand, is free.
• Per­form­ance: Matlab is a very fast and high-per­form­ing solution — assuming you have enough memory. Python is slower when it comes to larger data sets.
• Learning curve: Python is sig­ni­fic­antly simpler than Matlab and doesn’t require as much back­ground knowledge. Matlab is struc­tured in a very logical and com­pre­hens­ible way but is aimed at users with a deep knowledge of math.

Is Python or Matlab better?

So which language is better, Python or Matlab? In most cases, Python will be the better choice. The language is far more com­pre­hens­ive, easier to learn and free. Matlab can be a better choice if you require the services of Simulink. We haven’t seen a better al­tern­at­ive to date. In theory, you could also use the two languages together, but you should carefully weigh the costs and benefits first.