Python's response to MATLAB

[u/Alexanderdaawesome]

[u/Alexanderdaawesome]

Because Python needs to type

import numpy as np

Before doing anything MATLAB can do.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

You can write templates that do that for you, saving you literally seconds of drudgery!

[u/ItsOk_ImYourDad → u/[deleted]]

I have no legacy

[u/[deleted] → u/ItsOk_ImYourDad]

Sure you do, dad, you've got me

[u/Fratboy_Slim → u/[deleted]]

Like he said, no legacy

[u/ItsOk_ImYourDad → u/Fratboy_Slim]

Good one slim

[u/mexiKobe → u/[deleted]]

matplotlib’s decision to include MATLAB-like state machine plotting was really stupid. It used to be extremely confusing and I would just write to file and use GNUplot

[u/SuspiciousScript → u/mexiKobe]

It used to be extremely confusing

it definitely still is

[u/mexiKobe → u/SuspiciousScript]

well what I mean is at least now that Python is being used widely for numerical calculations that there are tutorials that talk about it. When I started using matplotlib in like 2011 it felt like a total mystery.

[u/mexiKobe → u/[deleted]]

you must have been doing simple plots because as soon as you needed to really customize things you had to start calling methods

[u/Thecrawsome → u/[deleted]]

matplotlib requires more boilerplate than Matlab for regular graphing. especially if you're making a node graph or something.

with that being said, i still can't stand Matlab

(I'm open to correction)

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Don't forget, in some environments, you'll also need

%matplotlib inline

[u/Oxyriser → u/Alexanderdaawesome]

*for free

[u/stoirtap → u/Alexanderdaawesome]

Hi, Engineering newb here.

I've got some experience with Python and MATLAB (through my school). Being the newb that I am, my favorite part of MATLAB is that it shows me all the variables and what's in them on the side, so if the wrong thing is going to the wrong place, I'll know at once.

Does Python have something like that?

[u/djingrain → u/stoirtap]

That's more of an IDE feature than a language feature, if I'm understanding correctly, so if you use the right IDE, sure, the thing I understand about Matlab is that it locks you into their IDE

[u/GuybrushThreepwo0d → u/djingrain]

You are not locked into an IDE with matlab. I use vim as my editor and run scripts from the command line.

[u/ThwompThwomp → u/GuybrushThreepwo0d]

emacs Matlab'er reporting in as well. It's a much better experience from emacs than mathworks' bloated java gui, but sometimes their line-by-line debugging tools are pretty nice.

[u/tikael → u/stoirtap]

Check out Spyder, it has a built in console and does what you want out of the box. You can get it and a full Python install ready for most scientific and engineering uses by installing Anaconda.

It's not my favorite editor, that'd be sublime text but it requires a bit more know-how and set up than Spyder.

[u/sssmmt → u/stoirtap]

Install Pycharm (pro version is free if you're a student) and activate Scientific Mode.

https://www.jetbrains.com/help/pycharm/matplotlib-tutorial.html

[u/Alexanderdaawesome → u/sssmmt]

Can verify, I do ALL of my function prototyping in Pycharm for its (and jetbrains in gerneral) debugging features.

[u/Linkguy137 → u/stoirtap]

I mean I use Spyder and it is in there

[u/Blazerboy65 → u/stoirtap]

In Python you'll usually get that kind of functionality using a debugger or a client like Spyder.

[u/gmclapp → u/stoirtap]

Basically any IDE besides IDLE