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Could someone give a brief explanation on how this compares to R? When should you use one over the other?
by babs474 16y ago
Could someone give a brief explanation on how this compares to R? When should you use one over the other?
- acangiano 16y agoThere is always some overlap between these types of software, but R and Octave are fundamentally different products. R is a statistical tool, while Octave is a numerical analysis tool. Depending on the problem you're trying to solve, you may find one or the other to be more convenient.
- cageface 16y agoPretty much. There's actually quite a bit of overlap between the two. If you're doing statistical work then R is a natural. For engineering tasks Octave/Matlab is more convenient, particularly if you're doing a lot of linear algebra, where Octave's syntax is ideal. You'll also find more third-party code available if you stick to the language closest to your problem domain. R's graphing facilities are superb though, and easily outdistance Octave's. So if you want to build complex visualizations that might trump other concerns. Numpy/Scipy can do most of what R and Octave can do but their syntax isn't optimal, since they're built on a general-purpose language.
- dimatura 16y agoI would call R 'Matlab for statisticians'. They're similar in that they are matrix-oriented scripting languages. The main difference is their focus, which matters mainly in regards to what kind of libraries you'll find for either.
- forkandwait 16y agoI think R is good for packaging up complex code involving categorical data and shipping it. It is also better at data management. Octave/ matlab is more graceful at handling complex matrix manipulations than R, but poor at categorical data or data management. If you want to write your own algorithms, use Octave. If you want access to libraries, use R. (I personally find R ugly and matlab pretty.)