free MATLAB environment

Question

I'm learning the MATLAB language and would like to have some kind of free environment to experiment with. The MATLAB environment provided by MathWorks is commercial. There appears to be a trial available, but I can't figure out how to get the trial license.

For the moment, all I need is a command-line and the "standard libraries".

Answer 1

Octave is mostly compatible with matlab: http://www.gnu.org/software/octave/

Answer 2

If you are just starting with MATLAB I would strongly suggest to go the Python path instead (unless there is some very specific reason why you must use MATLAB). The basics (like array / matrix operations) are very similar to MATLAB.

In my current area of work (neuroscience) there is a strong migration from MATLAB to Python. Many groups are making the switch because Python is free and generally more powerful.

The basic packages you will probably need to get started would be numpy (basic array numerics), scipy (more algorithms) and matplotlib (plotting). Since you want to work on the command line I suggest IPython as well.

As already mentioned in another answer there are also some Python distributions which include many packages, like PythonXY, the Enthought Python Distribution, or Anaconda.

There are many tutorials available on the web, search a little and pick one you like.