MATLAB and Scilab Comparison
Jill Ziegler
Hamilton High West
Hamilton, NJ
MATLAB code:
Program Structure,
Functions, and Syntax
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Very closely paralleled
most structure and functions
identical
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some functions with same name
but different results
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xlabel and ylabel functions in this
example are identical
the axis function shown in the
MATLAB code will produce in
Scilab, if proper arguments are
provided, draw an axis in the
output window independent of
the rest of the figure
some functions with identical
results but different name or
syntax
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note the difference in comment
lines
hist and histplot are notable in
the examples shown
Scilab code:
Layout and Workspaces
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Very functionally similar
MATLAB has a layout more like the
most recent versions of MS Office
(icons with explanatory text
beneath) while Scilab has the icons
alone with explanatory text
available by hovering the mouse
Same subwindows
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file browser
command window
variable workspace
command history
Both can dock and undock all
subwindows in the main window
Editor Window Toolbars
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Differences and similarities parallel from the main workspaces
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icons with text as opposed to icons with hover text
Toolbar design different in style, but provides similar functionality
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MATLAB has functionality available through different tabs in the toolbar
Scilab has more of the functionality available through drop-down menus
Graphing: function plots
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MATLAB
function plot
While syntax is slightly different
between MATLAB and Scilab,
function plots that are essentially
the same can be produced
Significant difference:
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MATLAB will clear the plot if
another plot command is given
multiple functions on the same
axis must be done in the same
statement or the hold plot
function must be used
allows easy, smooth animation of
plots: simply use another plot
statement to create the next
“frame”
Scilab plots do not clear unless a
clear command is given
multiple functions on the same
axis are easy
smooth animation is harder and
has so far remained elusive
Scilab
function plot
Graphing: Histograms
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Note: differences in the profile of the
two histograms results from the fact
that they are both generated from a
random process and any two
histograms from the same program
would look a bit different
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code producing these plots is the
code shown in an earlier slide
Differences in appearance that don’t
affect functionality
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MATLAB
Histogram
color and tick marks
Functions in each program are
significantly different
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MATLAB hist function puts the data
first in the statement, followed by
the number of bins
Scilab histplot function puts the
number of bins first, followed by the
data
Scilab also defaults to a normalized
histogram
If a non-normalized histogram is
desired, an argument must be
provided in the histplot function to
specify this
Scilab
Histogram
Major Differences
• Cost and accessibility:
– MATLAB is paid software with proprietary code
– Scilab is free and open source
• more accessible
• may be less support, especially for add-on modules
• Plot clearing:
– MATLAB clears one plot automatically when another one is plotted
– Scilab leaves all plots on the same axis unless cleared
• GUIs
– MATLAB comes standard with a GUI builder, GUIDE, built in
– Scilab does not
• at least 4 GUI building modules are available for download (none tried as of
this writing)
Help and Documentation
MATLAB
Scilab
• extensive help available
through built-in library
• more help available on-line,
including videos
• extensive help available through
built-in library
• more help available on-line (main
website at
http://www.scilab.org/resources/
documentation)
– most help available through
Mathworks website
• Good textbook available for
individual or class use that
we’ve used:
– Lent, Craig S.: Learning to
Program with MATLAB: Building
GUI Tools
– several pdf user tutorials at various
levels, including for “very
beginners” available at
http://www.scilab.org/resources/d
ocumentation/tutorials
– texts available for high school use
in math and engineering, currently
only in French
– limited videos, but has YouTube
Channel (user ScilabChannel)
Concluding Thoughts
• Either MATLAB or Scilab will do the kinds of
graphing and analysis we’re looking for
• Either program can be used to learn
mathematical programming using matrices
• Programs in one language can be adapted
rather easily to run in the other
• GUI capability of MATLAB is proven, Scilab is
not
– Seems to be available