Scilab vs. Octave (for control systems design) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Sigmoid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2013, 11:39:58 am
content: Hey,I'm looking for a free MATLAB-like tool... I found two candidates, Scilab and Octave, both seem to have their proponents... Scilab is often ripped on for not being compatible with MATLAB enough to run unmodified programs.Do any of you use one of the two? If strict MATLAB compatibility is not a requirement (as opposed to usability, capabilities and reliability), which one would be the best choice?

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 21, 2013, 12:03:55 pm
content: I have some experience with Octave and none with Scilab, so I'm not the best person to answer this, but I'll give you my $0.02 anyway.My impression is that both offer a solid core. Octave is able to run many MATLAB programs that don't use specialist toolboxes with only minor modifications, while Scilab is MATLAB-inspired rather than a MATLAB clone. None of this matters if you're developing specifically for Scilab/Octave. There are some GUIs for Octave (I've used qtoctave in the past), but they are clearly inferior to the MATLAB GUI. Scilab appears to be doing better in that regard.It might boil down to their equivalent oftoolboxes. For example Scilab hasXcos(an alternative to MathWorks Simulink), while Octave did not have any Simulink equivalent last time I checked. Octave has a decent number of community-developed packages onOctave-Forge, however. If you don't care about compatibility with the MATLAB language but just with its functionality, then Python withthe various SciPy components(including NumPy for matrices and Matplotlib for MATLAB-like plotting) might also be worth considering. The advantage is that you get a general purpose programming language which simplifies operations like I/O and interfacing with other software.

author: Bored@Work
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2013, 02:37:25 pm
content: My experience with Scilab is very limited. I tried it years ago, didn't like it and moved to Octave. What you won't get with Octave is 100% Matlab compatibility. It takes some effort to write programs that work under both Octave and Matlab. You have to write to the least common denominator. I.e. it is not much fun. Octave lacks language features and some toolboxes compared to Matlab. And Matlab lacks some of Octave's toolboxes, too.Frankly, I if you need Matlab compatibility then only Matlab will do.

author: Sigmoid
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 21, 2013, 03:04:22 pm
content: Quote from: Bored@Work on December 21, 2013, 02:37:25 pmFigured that much, I've worked on a single codebase for SQL Server and Sybase ASE, and well, I'm sure it only gets worse than that.Anyway, MATLAB compatibility is not really the point. I just need something that does most of what MATLAB does. Currently, I have to say that Xcos kind of weighs in Scilab's favor.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2015, 11:07:42 pm
content: Yes it's an old post but hey I am new here....I have played with Octave over the years. A real pain to get it built and was never sure why they just to target 64-bits and be done with it. Once they dropped the front end, I lost interest. I do have a 64-bit version I built with the toolboxes. Very compatible clone. Sci-Lab is a whole different animal (which is a good thing).Sci-Lab has an interface very similar to Simulink. I am attempting to use Sci-Lab with X2C. I made this video a few months ago.This is a much better video showing it actually doing something.

author: owiecc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 01, 2015, 11:39:02 pm
content: You know that you can buy a MATLAB license for home use for about €120.

author: LabSpokane
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 06:57:20 am
content: Quote from: owiecc on February 01, 2015, 11:39:02 pmWhen did that start? I have seen academic licenses but never home.

author: Seán
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 08:48:43 am
content: Quote from: LabSpokane on February 02, 2015, 06:57:20 amIt is a pretty recent thing I think ...I only found out about it when I was at a MATLAB seminar a few moths back. I imagine they know people have used cracked versions of MATLAB is the past, but they also know the only reason some (most?) of these people used the cracked versions was because of the very high cost of the licence, so they figured they would bring the costs down and get some money coming in from your average home user/hobby type of person. I don't know how true that logic is, but there you go.But whatever the reasons, I am really glad they have done the home licence thing.Seán

author: owiecc
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 04:53:54 pm
content: It is a pretty recent thing. I think they introduced it last year.BTW. Do you know how student licenses works? What happens after you graduate? Can you still use it for a noncommercial projects or should you migrate to full/home license?

author: LabSpokane
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 02, 2015, 05:11:27 pm
content: I seem to recall that my student license was only valid while I was a student. But that was a while ago and that version was crippled back then, so I will just buy the home version. This is really awesome. I used to get in so much trouble remotely farming big jobs onto remote workstations. My only disappointment is that now I have to pay for the privilege.I hope people pony up and this policy continues. Been waiting for this for too long.

author: Seán
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: February 03, 2015, 07:29:35 am
content: Quote from: owiecc on February 02, 2015, 04:53:54 pmI would image you can keep using it, for home projects and what have you, but if you wanted to get the latest version etc., and are no longer a student, you need to get the Home licence.Seán

author: Noise Floor
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2015, 11:47:34 pm
content: Quote from: Sigmoid on December 21, 2013, 03:04:22 pmYou want Scilab.

author: miguelvp
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2015, 09:02:16 am
content: I was going to ask if IDL was still a product, but I googled it and it seems they still existhttp://www.exelisvis.com/ProductsServices/IDL.aspxBut it seems you have to register to find the price out, so it's probably still expensive. Used to use it for free at Uni so I have no idea what the cost was/is.