Why/when should I prefer MATLAB over Octave?

Question

In our shoestring operation we need to prototype algorithms in some higher-level language before committing to a C implementation on embedded hardware.

So far we hav

Answer 1

For your use case, octave may be superior to MATLAB:

• It has syntax that will allow you to write code that is slightly closer to C. i.e. +=, -=, default function parameter values, double-quoted string literals, etc...

• Assuming your chips are slower than a desktop processor, speed will likely not be an issue.

• Since it launches far faster than matlab, it is more practical to integrate into shell scripts for testing.

• For prototyping, the plotting is more than adequate; people are just used to MATLAB's style.

• The relative lack of toolboxes isn't a big deal since they wouldn't be available on your target platform anyway.

I use both, and whenever I switch, I miss features from the other.