Matlab (MathWorks)

Matlab (MathWorks)
Name	MATLAB
Developer	MathWorks
Released	1984
Latest release	R2024a
Programming language	C, C++, Java
Operating system	Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux
License	Proprietary

Matlab (MathWorks) Matlab (MathWorks) is a proprietary numerical computing environment and programming language developed by MathWorks, widely used in engineering, science, finance, and education. It integrates numeric computation, visualization, and programming in an interactive environment and is extended via numerous toolboxes for domain-specific tasks. Matlab has influenced and been integrated with a wide range of commercial, academic, and research software and institutions.

History

Matlab originated in the 1970s as a matrix laboratory created by Cleve Moler while associated with University of New Mexico, Stanford University collaborators, and colleagues from National Science Foundation-funded research; it gained commercial form when Jack Little and Steve Bangert co-founded MathWorks to distribute the software, with business growth intersecting companies like IBM, Sun Microsystems, and Microsoft Corporation. Over its lifecycle Matlab saw milestones in numerical libraries and standards including adoption of BLAS and LAPACK routines developed in collaboration with researchers at Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and influenced by work from Netlib and figures like James Wilkinson and Gene Golub. Key corporate and technological events involved partnerships and competition with entities such as Wolfram Research, National Instruments, Oracle Corporation, and The MathWorks, Inc. expansions mirrored shifts in platform support for UNIX, Linux, and macOS. Academic uptake occurred across institutions including Massachusetts Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Cambridge, ETH Zurich, Tsinghua University, and University of Tokyo where Matlab supported curricula, research grants, and collaborations with agencies like NASA, European Space Agency, DARPA, and NOAA.

Features and architecture

Matlab provides a hybrid runtime combining an interpreted high-level language with compiled libraries and JIT acceleration, integrating components influenced by standards and implementations from IEEE 754 floating-point norms, linear algebra libraries like LAPACK, and virtual machine concepts seen in Java Virtual Machine designs. The desktop includes an editor, workspace browser, command window, and plotting tools supporting graphics frameworks akin to OpenGL and formats used by PostScript and SVG. Data import/export integrates with formats and systems such as HDF5, NetCDF, SQL Server, and Excel, and connectivity APIs interface with Python (programming language), Java (programming language), and C++. Performance-critical operations leverage multithreading and GPU acceleration via vendors like NVIDIA and libraries such as CUDA, and integration supports distributed computing with frameworks comparable to MPI and services from Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform.

Programming language and environment

The Matlab language is matrix-oriented with syntax and semantics that echo predecessors and contemporaries including APL (programming language), Fortran, and C (programming language), supporting procedural, object-oriented, and functional paradigms. The environment includes an integrated development environment inspired by features from Emacs, Visual Studio, and Eclipse with debugging, profiling, and unit testing utilities comparable to JUnit and pytest. Interoperability features permit calling and embedding code from Python (programming language), Java (programming language), C (programming language), and .NET Framework, and tool integration aligns with version control systems like Git and Subversion. The language standard evolves through MathWorks releases, and community contributions and examples circulate via repositories and archives similar to GitHub, SourceForge, and academic preprint servers such as arXiv.

Toolboxes and add-ons

MathWorks expands Matlab through specialized toolboxes covering domains that intersect work from organizations and projects like IEEE, ISO, ITU, and research labs at Bell Labs and MIT Lincoln Laboratory. Toolboxes address signal processing, control systems, image processing, statistics, optimization, and machine learning, paralleling libraries such as SciPy, TensorFlow, PyTorch, OpenCV, and scikit-learn. Domain-specific add-ons target control design with standards like ISO 26262 and DO-178C-related workflows, aerospace simulations akin to work at Boeing and Airbus, and financial modeling used by firms like Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. Community and third-party contributions are distributed via platforms comparable to MATLAB Central, academic consortiums, and commercial partners including MathWorks Certified Add-Ons providers.

Applications and usage

Matlab is used across diverse projects in industry and academia: numerical simulation and modeling in laboratories at CERN and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory; control and avionics design for programs at NASA centers and contractors like Lockheed Martin; signal and image processing deployments in companies such as Siemens and Samsung; algorithm development in finance at institutions like BlackRock and Morgan Stanley; and machine learning research in groups at Google Research and Facebook AI Research. Educational adoption is widespread in courses at University of Oxford, University of California, Berkeley, Columbia University, and Imperial College London where Matlab supports labs, theses, and competitions such as Formula Student and robotics contests associated with FIRST and DARPA challenges.

Licensing and editions

MathWorks offers commercial, academic, and student licenses with subscription and perpetual models, and provides deployment options including runtime-only distributions and compiled applications for integration with systems at vendors like Intel and ARM Holdings. Licensing terms and export controls intersect regulatory frameworks and organizations such as U.S. Department of Commerce, and distribution channels involve enterprise agreements and campus-wide site licenses similar to procurement patterns at Stanford University and University of Michigan. Editions include Desktop, Online services, and MATLAB Mobile offerings, and MathWorks collaborates with cloud providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform for scalable deployment.

Category:Numerical analysis software