Should I renew my subscription with MatDeck or try something else?

I’ve been using it for about a year now, ever since I started learning how to program. In my opinion, I quite like the software and even though I hate most of the tasks I have to do, it does shorten late night work. The main 2 reasons I didn’t choose LabVIEW or Matlab was because after a bit of researching MatDeck was cheaper and came with built-in programming. MatDeck costs from 45($56.54) to 700($879.50) pounds depending on which one you buy. I’m not yet fully experienced or have the knowledge to use the added functions that come with the Commercial version so I chose for the MatDeck Lite version as it’s moe in my uni student and still has all the primary functions that I use such as matrices and vectors, nonlinear equations and systems, and programming which I needed for my personal studies. Money is always a problem for me because I’m a uni student so that's why I chose to buy MatDeck at a lower cost than the more famous companies like LabVIEW and MatLab.

The other main reason I chose to use MatDeck was the programming that comes with it. I started learning how to code first in python and then in C for about a year and a half ago and if you don't mind me saying I think I've gotten pretty good at it. But, if a piece of code is too hard, I find it easier to code in python. In MatDeck, it has coding and its other functions in the same document which is a nice thing for my studies and I quite like it. Basically, I can program and write text or graphs or something like that in the same document. It allows both python and script similar to C to be ran in the document. Personally, I find it easier to code in python on it but for any more experienced users or students doing programming at a higher level can use the built-in script that comes with it as it is almost as fast as normal C code. You can also choose whether you want to execute your code as a whole at the end or line by line. I don’t really care about this because I rarely use it but if you do want to use it you can switch between the two by entering equal signs in the code where you want to execute or turning it off and on again at the toolbar.

Overall, MatDeck is pretty much a cheaper LabVIEW or MatLab but with everything being able to be done in the same document. If you are looking for a software like this, I think it is a much more affordable option. Keep in mind, this is only my opinion so feel free to buy whatever software you want and I just want any ideas or suggestions from others who are in a similar situation. I’m debating whether I should get something else or stick with MatDeck. Let me know what you think.

Reply 1

winterscoming

19

I've never used MatLab or any of its equivalents personally, but in my opinion the best way to decide whether something is worth the money is to look at the value of the thing you're going to be getting out of it at the end. Are you hoping to achieve anything in particular? for example, is there a project that you want to work on where you'll make use of it? is it a skill that you want to improve for your CV and are looking to get more practise? Will it be useful for a particular module on your course?

Also, are there any ways in which you can obtain any free educational licences via the university?

Don't forget that there are Python libraries that are 100% free which you could use instead. in particular, it might be worth looking at NumPy, SciPy and Matplotlib which all have a lot of support for the kinds of functions you mentioned. See: https://pyzo.org/python_vs_matlab.html
(Obviously there'll be a learning curve if you've never used them, but these libraries have a lot of good community support online)

My personal feeling on this would be that unless the benefit you get from renewing this subscription is going to make a significant difference to you (e.g. helping you get better grades on your course, or helping you work towards a really good project for your CV), and if money is tight then you'd be better off looking at the Python alternatives and getting used to those. Python with those libraries are used a lot in jobs such as data science, as well as being commonly used on a lot of university STEM modules.

Reply 2

Mike_donan

OP

2

Original post by winterscoming

I've never used MatLab or any of its equivalents personally, but in my opinion the best way to decide whether something is worth the money is to look at the value of the thing you're going to be getting out of it at the end. Are you hoping to achieve anything in particular? for example, is there a project that you want to work on where you'll make use of it? is it a skill that you want to improve for your CV and are looking to get more practise? Will it be useful for a particular module on your course?

Also, are there any ways in which you can obtain any free educational licences via the university?

Don't forget that there are Python libraries that are 100% free which you could use instead. in particular, it might be worth looking at NumPy, SciPy and Matplotlib which all have a lot of support for the kinds of functions you mentioned. See: https://pyzo.org/python_vs_matlab.html
(Obviously there'll be a learning curve if you've never used them, but these libraries have a lot of good community support online)

My personal feeling on this would be that unless the benefit you get from renewing this subscription is going to make a significant difference to you (e.g. helping you get better grades on your course, or helping you work towards a really good project for your CV), and if money is tight then you'd be better off looking at the Python alternatives and getting used to those. Python with those libraries are used a lot in jobs such as data science, as well as being commonly used on a lot of university STEM modules.

While python is a great thing and a good suggestion ,I did use when I first started to learn how to program, the reason I chose to move away from it was because with python I was unable to organise my thoughts, create notes, define tasks or make drawings/flowcharts which with asoftware like MatDeck and LabView do. One of the other reasons was beacuse I needed a software that could act like a Word document and let me document things but also do other things such as programming or make a custom GUI and have a nice finish. Using python and its libariers is a cheaper option and a much smaller application so it would put less strain on my computer which is a nice feature. But I need the mathematical engine that comes with MatDeck and the organsiational options I mentioned above on the same document which python unfortuantely cannot do. Another thing I forgot to mention was that when I have to use ecternal readings such as temprature, this software lets me connect to hardware, AD cards, which is more useful than using python and It's libraries. I'm looking for something that can do pretty much all these things that are needed for my project requirements. I think I've listed all the things so you can tell that I'm looking for something pretty basic and difficult which is why I'm reaching out. I'm not exactly looking for a programming engine but a programming enigne that comes with the added features I mentioned. Do you know any softwares that do these things or at least something similar?

Should I renew my subscription with MatDeck or try something else?

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