This describes well how I use Mathematica. I would also add that compared to Matlab you pay for single license and get whole thing. With Matlab you send list of

This describes well how I use Mathematica. I would also add that compared to Matlab you pay for single license and get whole thing. With Matlab you send list of toolboxes to a manager and got asked "Do you really need symbolic toolbox?" With tools maturing there is a push to use Python for prototyping, but the experience is still not as seamless as with Mathematica. That being said, from my experience Mathematica is best for prototyping or research. Once you know what you are doing it makes sense to redo everything in C/C++ (or your other favorite static typing language) for production or client use.