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I have never used matlab, but a lot of my colleagues do. Can anyone give me
some good references that I could show them to explain the advantages of
python over matlab?

Hi,
> import plab
>
> plab.plot() #etc.
>
> and interactive use could do from plab import *.
Yes... It's a hard call of course. I am a long term matlab user, and
switched to python relatively recently. I do see the attraction of
persuading people that you can get something very similar to matlab
easily. The downside about making numpy / python like matlab is that
you soon realize that you really have to think about your problems
differently, and write code in a different way. I know that's
obvious, but the variables as pointers, mutable / immutable types,
zero based indexing, arrays vs matrices are all (fruitful) stumbling
blocks. Then there is the very large change of thinking in an OO way,
pulling in other large packages for doing other tasks, writing
well-structured code with tests - all the features that python gives
you for an industrial strength code base. And, the more pylab looks
like matlab, the more surprised and confused people will be when they
switch. So, I would argue that getting as close to matlab as
possible should not be the unqualified goal here - it is a real
change, with real pain, but great benefits.
Best,
Matthew

Perhaps we should consider two use cases: interactive use ala Matlab
and larger code bases. In the first case, being able to import * saves
a lot of typing and the namespace polution problem isn't a big deal.
The second use, obviously, benefits from avoiding import *.
Returning to the OP's questions, why couldn't both cases be helped by
creating a "meta-package" for numpy, scipy, and matplotlib? For the
sake of argument, lets call the package "plab". Existing code could be
affected by changing the individual packages, but a package that
essentially does
from pylab import *
from numpy import *
from scipy import *
would give a standard API that future code and interactive use could
use. Code could do
import plab
plab.plot() #etc.
and interactive use could do from plab import *.
Just a thought...
Barry
On 2/16/07, Matthew Brett <mat...@gm...> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> > I think a consensus is building in the python community that you should
> > NEVER use import *!
>
> Well, I have only been coding python for a few years, but I would say,
> along with writing unit tests, the great importance of not using
> import * is one of the secrets that you learn slowly and painfully
> with experience. Chris' point about the movement of big projects away
> from that idiom is a very good one. It is convenient, but over time
> you realize that the value of convenience is far outweighed by the
> namespace mess and loss of clarity that results.
>
> Best,
>
> Matthew
>
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