Parent page: Programming Applications

Introduction

MATLAB® is a high-level language and interactive environment that enables you to perform computationally intensive tasks faster than with traditional programming languages such as C, C++, and Fortran.

You can use MATLAB in a wide range of applications, including signal and image processing, communications, control design, test and measurement, financial modeling and analysis, and computational biology. Add-on toolboxes (collections of special-purpose MATLAB functions, available separately) extend the MATLAB environment to solve particular classes of problems in these application areas.

MATLAB provides a number of features for documenting and sharing your work. You can integrate your MATLAB code with other languages and applications, and distribute your MATLAB algorithms and applications.

MATLAB R2011a Installation Instructions

• You will need superuser privileges. The assumption is that MATLAB install files are located at /media/MATHWORKS_R2011a in your filesystem.

1. Run the MATLAB installer with the following Terminal command:

sudo /media/MATHWORKS_R2011A/install

2. When prompted to 'Choose installation type' you should select custom. This will allow you to create symbolic links to MATLAB in /usr/local/bin.

3. When prompted to 'Specify installation folder' it is recommended that you use the default folder /usr/local/MATLAB/R2011a.

4. When given the option to 'Create symbolick links to MATLAB scripts in:' it is recommended that you check the box and use the supplied path /usr/local/bin.

Create A MATLAB Launcher

1. Get an icon:

sudo wget http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Matlab_Logo.png -O /usr/share/icons/matlab.png

2. Get the launcher file:

sudo wget 'https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MATLAB?action=AttachFile&do=get&target=matlab-r2011a.desktop' -O /usr/share/applications/matlab.desktop

MEX functions

Important Note: these instructions does not work on Ubuntu 11.04 (Natty), because default MATLAB compiler gcc 4.3 is not anymore included at Natty (11.04) repository. The MEX function always failed in this case!!!

If you try to compile MEX functions you may see a message like the following:

Warning: You are using gcc version "4.4.4-14ubuntu5)".  The version
         currently supported with MEX is "4.3.4".
         For a list of currently supported compilers see:
         http://www.mathworks.com/support/compilers/current_release/

Note this is a warning - the MEX function will still compile.

The following instructions will setup gcc 4.3 and make it the default compiler for MATLAB:

1. Install The GNU Compiler Collection 4.3 and The GNU Standard C++ Library

sudo apt-get install gcc-4.3-multilib libstdc++6-4.3-dev

2. Make a MATLAB specific 'bin' directory for gcc symlink.

mkdir ~/.matlab/bin

3. Symlink gcc to gcc-4.3 via user MATLAB specific 'bin' directory.

ln -s /usr/bin/gcc-4.3 ~/.matlab/bin/gcc

4. Add MATLAB specific 'bin' directory to the front of your system $PATH within your local startup.m file.

printf "setenv('PATH',sprintf('/home/%%s/.matlab/bin:%%s',getenv('USER'),getenv('PATH')));\n" >> ~/Documents/MATLAB/startup.m

For more ideas, try this thread or this one.

Previous Versions

• R2010b

• R2010a

• R2009b

External Links

For more information about MATLAB see the following links

• < http://www.mathworks.com/ > - MathWorks - MATLAB and Simulink for Technical Computing.

• < http://www.mathworks.com/products/matlab/ > - MATLAB - The Language Of Technical Computing

• < http://www.mathworks.com/access/helpdesk/help/techdoc/matlab.html > - MATLAB Documentation.

• < http://www.mathworks.com/support/ > - The MathWorks Support.

• < http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/ > - MATLAB Central.

• < http://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/ > - MATLAB Central File Exchange.

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