Difference Between MATLAB and R
The names MATLAB stands for matrix laboratory. Matlab is a multi-paradigm numerical computing environment and proprietary programming language developed by the company called MathWorks. Matlab allows various functionalities to be performed like matrix manipulations, plotting of functions and data, implementation of algorithms, the creation of user interface, and interfacing with programs written in various other programming languages like C, Java, C++ and Python and many more. R is a programming language and free software environment for statistical computing and graphics supported by the R Foundation for Statistical Computing. R and its libraries implement wide varieties of statistical and graphical techniques which include machine learning algorithms like classification, clustering, time-series analysis, data modeling and many more.
What is Matlab?
Matlab features an application-specific solution called toolboxes. It is an important feature of the Matlab that allows us to learn and apply specialized technology. Toolboxes provide a set of Matlab functions which are called as M-files that solves a specific set of problems. There are various areas where toolboxes are available like signal processing, control systems, neural network, simulations, and many other areas.
What is R?
The features of R are extended through user-created packages. These packages are developed primarily in R and sometimes in Java, C, C++, and Fortran. R is not only available as a command-line tool, but also has many graphical IDE’s like RStudio, R Tools for Visual Studio. Some of the more common editors that support R include Eclipse, Notepad++, WinEdt, etc. R functionalities are also accessible through various scripting languages like Perl, Ruby, and Python, etc., and other high-level languages like Java, .Net, etc.
Head To Head Comparison Between MATLAB and R(Infographics)
Below is the top 7 difference between MATLAB vs R
Key Differences Between MATLAB and R
Both are popular choices in the market; let us discuss some of the major key differences
- Classes and Objects: Object-Oriented programming brings great simplicity to the program. In Matlab, a class can be defined as a folder or directory of functions used to work with objects of that class whereas in R classes are available in the form of Packages.
- Installation: R can run on any operating system but Matlab cannot run the same licensed version on the different operating systems unless different operating systems installed on the same physical machine.
- Usage: R is basically used to solve problems related to statistics whereas Matlab is used for other aspects of mathematics such as calculus, plotting graphs, etc. R has many prepackaged programs that help to solve analytical problems, so in the analytics field, R is preferred over Matlab.
- Learning Curve: R can be difficult for those who are new into the programming language as R uses natural programming syntax. Since it is open-source R has a massive amount of open source codes available that might help users to get started. On the contrary, Matlab is easier to learn as it has a lot of toolboxes for most of the functionalities. Since Matlab requires the license amount of code available online is scarce.
- Preferred Language: R is the preferred language for performing data analysis by most of the industries whereas Matlab is mostly used by many Universities.
- Add-on Products: Matlab has a lot of add-on products available to perform various tasks. One of them is Simulink. It is a graphical programming environment for modeling, simulating and analyzing multi-domain systems. R doesn’t have any add-on products as such it does have a lot of packages that need to be included in the program.
MATLAB vs R Comparison Table
Below is the topmost comparison
| The Basis Of comparison | MATLAB | R |
| Open Source | Matlab is not open source. It is available as a paid version. | R is an open-source. |
| Speed | Matlab is faster than R.
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R is slower than Matlab. |
| Functionalities | Matlab is used for performing various engineering applications like image processing, matrix manipulation, machine learning, signal processing etc. | R is mainly used for statistical analysis and data processing. |
| Ease of Use | Matlab is easy to program very complex things as there are a lot of toolboxes available. | R follows programming language syntax, which might be difficult for newbies in the programming world. |
| Availability of libraries | Most of the functionalities are available in the form of a toolbox that provides various functionalities. | R has a lot of packages with various functionalities. |
| Language type | Matlab is a high-level language. Popular Course in this category  MATLAB Training (3 Courses, 1 Project)3 Online Courses | 1 Hands-on Project | 8+ Hours | Verifiable Certificate of Completion | Lifetime Access 4.5 (3,373 ratings) Course Price View Course Related Courses Data Scientist Training (76 Courses, 60+ Projects)Tableau Training (4 Courses, 6+ Projects)Azure Training (5 Courses, 4 Projects, 4 Quizzes)Hadoop Training Program (20 Courses, 14+ Projects)Data Visualization Training (15 Courses, 5+ Projects)All in One Data Science Bundle (360+ Courses, 50+ projects)
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R is an interpreted language. |
| Community Support | Matlab is Licensed so it has closed community. | Since it is open it has a lot of community support. |
Conclusion
As we have listed down most of the differences and compared both MATLAB vs R languages with each other. Also considering the educational value of each programming language in terms of teaching, we can say that R can provide a competitive advantage while looking for a job in the analysis. Since R is an open-source an individual can contribute to it and provide a lot of online code which might help others to learn the language. As Matlab is concerned this is also one of the languages that are widely being used. Any individual who wants to play around with the concepts of data analysis, data science or any other mathematical operations without involving much of the coding can use this tool. Since it is a paid version the online availability of this tool could be an issue. So, anybody who wants to begin their learning in the field of data science on their own can use R language since it is open-source.
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