Re: IDL vs. matlab

["Pavel A. Romashkin" <pavel.romashkin(at)noaa.gov>]

Hi,

Have you looked into Dadisp? Free student version, limited slightly
though. Incentives available, if you want a full version. Really
intuitive interface. I used it for graduate work, and found it fully
adequate. Check http://www.dadisp.com/ Full price is comparable with IDL
or Matlab, but you can get a feel for it for free.
I use IDL now. In contrast with Dadisp, IDL does require programming,
and, IMHO, is more *project-oriented*. In other words, you can write
really nice things in IDL if you know well what you are doing. But if
you are not quite sure what you are doing (as I was during my undergrad
and grad work), fast prototyping of numerical models is easier and
cheaper in Dadisp.

Cheers,
Pavel

Bruno wrote:
> 
> Just want to get the group's opinion regarding this. I am an undergrad and I
> am thinking about buying IDL or MATLAB (student version). Most of my friends
> are advising for the latter software product since it's apparently more
> powerful and widely available on university systems. What do you think?
> 
> Thanks
>  Bruno