Why do you still insist on using MATLAB as your primary tool and/or incorporate other languages in your workflow?
In our large open-source MATLAB Central community, there are many long-term excellent user groups. I really want to know why you have been using MATLAB for a long time, and what are its absolute advantages?
I have been using MATLAB for a long time, and there are several reasons for that:
- Fast ramp-up in unfamiliar domains: When I explore an unfamiliar application area or a new topic, MATLAB helps me quickly locate the canonical methods and example workflows. Its comprehensive, professional documentation — along with the related-topic links typically provided at the end of each page — makes it easy to get started intuitively and saves a lot of time that would otherwise be spent hunting for foundational knowledge across the web.
- A relatively cutting-edge yet reliable technical path: MATLAB’s many toolboxes evolve with the field. While updates aren’t always absolutely bleeding-edge, they generally offer approaches that balance modernity and proven reliability. This reduces the risk of wasting time on obscure or unstable algorithms and helps me follow a pragmatic, well-tested technical direction.
- Strong community and technical support: When I encounter a problem I first post on forums like MATLAB Answers and thoroughly investigate the issue myself. If I find a solution, I publish it to contribute back — which deepens my own understanding and helps others. If I can’t solve it alone, experienced community members often respond within hours. As a last resort, MathWorks’ official support is available and typically conducts an in-depth investigation into specific cases to help resolve the issue.
- ......
Also, most individuals have limited time and technical bandwidth, diving deeply into a single, narrow area can be hard to pull back from unless you are committed to that specific direction. For cutting‑edge, highly specialized research it’s often necessary to combine MATLAB with other languages (e.g., Python, C/C++) to go further.
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Disclaimer: obviously I'm biased. But I came to work at MW as a long-time MATLAB user, so I was a fan-boy long before they paid me to be one.
Honestly, the big draw for me, from 1993 to the present, is the simplicity of the language. I want to solve problems, not write code*. Every time I use any other language, I soon hit that point where I do something like "max(a,b)" and it complains that it doesn't know what "max" is, and I groan loudly as I remember that I have to import a library and then do "math.max(a,b)" or some such nonsense. And immediately I'm the model for Cleve's original impetus to create MATLAB: a simple language that just works, that makes things easier, rather than just replace one problem (advanced/complicated computation) with another (programming implementation).
This is a personal vibe, of course. But for me, MATLAB feels like it gets the balance right more often than not, and more than most languages for the kinds of problems I like to solve (which is fair enough in the case of general-purposes languages).
[*] Ironically enough, of course, I'm now so conversant in MATLAB that I do kinda enjoy doing funky coding tricks with it. But I like that I can choose that, rather than be forced into it.
Speaking of funky coding tricks, Matt created a Cody problem group called
Are You Smarter Than a MathWorker? Try to beat Matt on that!
I really relate to what you said. Thank you for sharing. How wonderful it would be if I could be hired by MW!
@cui,xingxing and @Chen Lin, I agree and I appreciate these insights. My work is focused on providing useful resources to enable innovation which often incorporates the use of MATLAB with other languages. I'm curious on your thoughts of what events or resources you find useful to learn and stay current on integration?
For example, the MathWorks Education team previously hosted a webinar on MATLAB integration with opensource (MATLAB Without Borders) and it was well received. In this event, I thought this might be helpful to host for engineers and scientists working on commercial applications and interested in innovative workflows. We're hosting this free webinar (https://www.mathworks.com/company/events/webinars/upcoming/matlab-without-borders-advancing-engineering-workflows-4967300.html) on 9/30/2025.
Do you think this webinar topic is valueable? Do you have suggestions/recommendations on what other content or learning resources?
Thank You,
Taylor
Thanks for sharing the link to this workshop topic. I’m pleasantly surprised by how much it resonates with a theme I posted above — there are many interesting parallels. This kind of work is very helpful for engineering innovation, especially because it ties closely into currently popular tools like VS Code and Jupyter notebooks.
I regularly use Python and C/C++ at work, and I see increasing efforts from MathWorks to strengthen MATLAB’s integration with these modern workflows. I’m particularly hopeful that progress will accelerate on things like the MATLAB extension for VS Code. I’ve reported a number of issues and provided feedback there previously:
Thanks again for the link — looking forward to more discussion and developments in this space.
Thanks for sharing your experience and insights, Xingxing. I completely agree that our vibrant MATLAB Central community has become an advantage of using MATLAB/Simulink. Many thanks to our awesome contributors, like you.
Appreciate it — love being part of this community. Thanks to everyone who contributes!
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