Matrix magic with Perl + Octave, R or MatLab?

jdrago_999 has asked for the wisdom of the Perl Monks concerning the following question:

Monks -

I've been looking at GNU Octave, R, MatLab, etc. I (will soon) have lists-of-lists (matrices) that need to be permuted (as with Algorithm::Permute or List::Permutor::LOL ) - I have that part under control.

However, for plotting (potentially) a huge amount of information over time, what do you recommend? What are my options?

Most information I have found on Google appears informative but at the same time several years old. Benchmarks for Octave 2.x (current version is 3.x) or R v1.90 (current version is 2.6).

MatLab looks fine, but we'd like to skip the $licensing fee if possible, while still getting access to the pluggable features (specifically the "Statistics Toolbox^™").

Also, since our application will probably end up scaling out across several machines over time, I don't want to pay out the nose every time we bring another server online.

Finally, if we find some way to contribute back to the community - either with code or documentation - I would like to help support something Free and Open Source if possible.

So - what GUI options are available for GNU Octave, R, etc (for any platform - Mac, Linux, Windows) for "analysts not programmers" to get up-and-running?

Thanks!

Comment on Matrix magic with Perl + Octave, R or MatLab?

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Re: Matrix magic with Perl + Octave, R or MatLab? by jsegal (Friar) on Apr 03, 2008 at 19:01 UTC
For some simple plots, I have used the modules GD and GD::Graph, but for more complex things, I use R extensively (sometimes directly, sometimes with a perl wrapper, sometimes with perl to set up the input files and then R to do the work). I find it to be a great package, with a great community. There are multitudinous user-submitted packages, and a strong culture of users giving back. I don't think CRAN rivals CPAN in terms of size (probably nothing does), but it takes after it in concept. I have also used the Statistics::R module a bit, which helps link perl to R. I usually use the UNIX version writing scripts or performing ad-hoc analysis/testing things out via the well-integrated emacs mode, but my colleagues tend to use the windows GUI front end for their ad-hoc use. I haven't used Octave, so can't comment on it or give you a feature comparison with R. Octave and R are free replicas of Matlab and S, so presumably appeal to slightly different constituencies. If you have specific analytic needs, before you take the plunge with one platform or another, it might be worth checking out CRAN (one of the many mirrors is here) and the Octave user-submitted packages (OctaveForge), and see if there are already implementations of the sorts of analyses you need -- that alone could save you lots of time! Another R resource is this page of interesting graphics examples. Good luck with your quest! --JAS	[reply]
Re: Matrix magic with Perl + Octave, R or MatLab? by moklevat (Priest) on Apr 03, 2008 at 18:53 UTC
I realize you said that you have the matrix manipulation under control, but I would encourage you to look at PDL anyway. It's quite fast and memory efficient. Also, since you mentioned it, R is also very good at matrix manipulation. R also has nice display facilities (2D and 3D), and it is certainly what I would use for the type of project you seem to be describing.	[reply]
Re: Matrix magic with Perl + Octave, R or MatLab? by roboticus (Chancellor) on Apr 04, 2008 at 01:28 UTC
Quite some time ago, I used to have my perl scripts write GnuPlot scripts to draw the graphs. It was tougher than it should've been, but I got some really nice results. ...roboticus	[reply]
Re: Matrix magic with Perl + Octave, R or MatLab? by perlfan (Parson) on Apr 04, 2008 at 15:31 UTC
I have no opinion on what you should use, but I do have one on what you shouldn't. Don't use MatLab - and not because it cost money. It is just a horrible environment - and don't get me started on what it takes to distribute standalone apps. There is also Statistics::R, though I know you're asking for a gui.	[reply]