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Shackleford
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I'm a physics major in my junior year. I'm taking Diff. Eq. right now and after this semester I'll be in nothing buy upper-level physics and math courses. Would it be worth it to buy the MATLAB student version?
rubrix said:buy it? a simple google will get you to trial, demo, or something else.
plus, you prolly won't use it as much. For little usage, you prolly could do with those installed in your school's computers.
f95toli said:Is Matlab used in one of your courses?
If so there is a chance that you will get a student license for free.
Some universities buy a site license for Matlab that includes the right for students (and sometimes staff) to install Matlab at home.
Also, not all universities use Matlab; some use e.g. Mathematica instead meaning you might be better off getting that instead.
It is perhaps worth pointing out that Matlab is primarily a tool for NUMERICAL calculations; it can handle some analytical problems as well (at least if you have the right toolbox installed) but if you want a piece of software that can be used to simplify expressions, plot formulas etc you should probably get something else (Mathematica, Maple, Mathcad etc).
Btw, there are some free "almost Matlab" programs available and some of them are actually quite good. GNU Octave is a good example.
The programs are so similar to Matlab that you can quite often run code intended for Matlab directly in Octave; there are some minor differences (e.g. the way you write comments) but nothing too confusing.
Shackleford said:I plan on graduate school.
The student version is only $99. I could afford it. I just want to know if it would be a good investment.
Shackleford said:I'd rather have it in the convenience of my own home. lol.
Would a trial or demo be enough to cover some problems from my textbook?
Shackleford said:I plan on graduate school.
The student version is only $99. I could afford it. I just want to know if it would be a good investment.
f95toli said:Then buy it. Just be prepared to spend quite a loot of time learning how to use it, it is likely that you will only be given a short introduction to Matlab so if you want to learn how to really use if you will need to spend some time with t on your own (and maybe buy a book). My guess is that you will be using Ode23 or Ode45 to solve and plot some differential equations, which is quite easy if you have a "well-behaved" problem and to not need to understand all the details.
I was a lucky in that we were told essentially from day one (Matlab was part of the intro course) that we would be using Matlab for just about every course (and we did) meaning it was quite obvious to everyone that it was worth spending some time learning how to use it.
I've now used if for almost 15 years and I wouldn't be able to do my job without Matlab, I use it for everything from theoretical calculations to analysis of experimental data. In more recent versions of Matlab the handling of plots/graphs have improved a lot so nowadays I also use it for preparing graphs for papers and presentations (instead of using e.g. Origin).
Ordinary Differential Equations using Matlab (ODEuM) by Polking and Arnold, 3rd edition.
The computer software Matlab will be used to compute numerical solutions and represent them graphically. The additional Matlab programs (dfield, pplane, odesolve, eul, rk2, rk4) can be found at http://math.rice.edu/~dfield (see Appendix to Ch. 3 in ODEuM).
rubrix said:i have something else, for both maple and MATLAB (latest versions) and they have full features.
well...i don't think you'll be using it that much right now. When it comes time to use it, you'll probably have to upgrade to a newer version (which probably costs)
anyway, if you insist on buying, get it for cheaper price. I think amazon has it for $70 or so.
Contains R2009a versions of:
* MATLAB
* Simulink
* Symbolic Math Toolbox
* Control System Toolbox
* Signal Processing Toolbox
* Signal Processing Blockset
* Statistics Toolbox
* Optimization Toolbox
* Image Processing Toolbox
It depends on your individual needs and circumstances. If you are a student or educator who will be using MATLAB extensively for coursework or research, then the student version may be worth it for the lower cost and access to all features. However, if you only need to use MATLAB occasionally or for basic tasks, the free online version or a cheaper alternative may be more suitable.
The student version of MATLAB includes all features and toolboxes available in the full version. This includes tools for data analysis, visualization, programming, and more.
The student version of MATLAB is valid for one year from the date of purchase. After that, you will need to renew your license or purchase a new one.
Yes, you can upgrade to the full version of MATLAB at any time by purchasing a license. However, keep in mind that the student version is significantly cheaper and may be a more cost-effective option for students and educators.
The only limitations of the student version of MATLAB are the one-year validity and the requirement for the user to be a student or educator. Otherwise, all features and toolboxes are available for use.