[SciPy-user] Pros and Cons of Python verses other array environments

[Fernando Perez]

On 9/28/06, Bill Baxter <wbaxter at gmail.com> wrote:
> The numpy for matlab users page
> ( http://www.scipy.org/NumPy_for_Matlab_Users )
> also list a number of pros and cons.
>
> So far, I find the biggest cons to numpy to be
> 1) integration of plotting is not as good as matlab.  You have to be
> careful about calling "show()" in matplotlib because of event-loop
> integration issues.  Also no good 3D plotting solution.  MayaVi is
> supposed to be good, but it would be better if it were all just built
> into matplotlib.
> 2) integration of debugging is not as good as matlab.  In matlab when
> you stop at a breakpoint in your code, you get an interactive console
> where you can probe current values in your program, or create new ones
> etc.  The Wing IDE has this, but I couldn't find any open source IDEs
> that did this.

You may want to try ipython.  It's a console program, not an IDE, but
it does both of the above (no 3d plotting, just integrating
'intelligently' with mpl).  I'll be happy to provide you with further
details if you have questions.

Cheers,

f