MATLAB as a Visualization Tool

Abstract

MATLAB® is a software package developed by The MathWorks Inc., founded by Cleve Moler, Jack Little and Steve Bangert in 1984, which has its headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts (http://mathworks.com). MATLAB was designed to perform mathematical calculations, to analyze and visualize data, and to facilitate the writing of new software programs. The advantage of this software is that it combines comprehensive math and graphics functions with a powerful high-level language. Since MATLAB contains a large library of ready-to-use routines for a wide range of applications, the user can solve technical computing problems much more quickly than with traditional programming languages, such as C++ and FORTRAN. The standard library of functions can be significantly expanded by add-on toolboxes, which are collections of functions for special purposes such as image processing, creating map displays, performing geospatial data analysis or solving partial differential equations.