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Developing an application in MATLAB often feels like a natural choice: it offers a unified environment, powerful visualization tools, accessible syntax, and a robust technical ecosystem. But when the goal is to build a compilable, distributable app, the path becomes unexpectedly difficult if your workflow depends on symbolic functions like sym, zeta, or lambertw.
This isn’t a minor technical inconvenience—it’s a structural contradiction. MATLAB encourages the creation of graphical interfaces, input validation, and dynamic visualization. It even provides an Application Compiler to package your code. But the moment you invoke sym, the compiler fails. No clear warning. No workaround. Just: you cannot compile. The same applies to zeta and lambertw, which rely on the symbolic toolbox.
So we’re left asking: how can a platform designed for scientific and technical applications block compilation of functions that are central to those very disciplines?
What Are the Alternatives?
- Rewrite everything numerically, avoiding symbolic logic—often impractical for advanced mathematical workflows.
- Use partial workarounds like matlabFunction, which may work but rarely preserve the original logic or flexibility.
- Switch platforms (e.g., Python with SymPy, Julia), which means rebuilding the architecture and leaving behind MATLAB’s ecosystem.
So, Is MATLAB Still Worth It?
That’s the real question. MATLAB remains a powerful tool for prototyping, teaching, analysis, and visualization. But when it comes to building compilable apps that rely on symbolic computation, the platform imposes limits that contradict its promise.
Is it worth investing time in a MATLAB app if you can’t compile it due to essential mathematical functions? Should MathWorks address this contradiction? Or is it time to rethink our tools?
I’d love to hear your thoughts. Is MATLAB still worth it for serious application development?
In just one week, we have hit an amazing milestone: 500+ players registered and 5000+ solutions submitted! We’ve also seen fantastic Tips & Tricks articles rolling in, making this contest a true community learning experience.
And here’s the best part: you don’t need to be a top-ranked player to win. To encourage more casual and first-time players to jump in, we’re introducing new weekly prizes starting Week 2!
New Casual Player Prizes:
- 5 extra MathWorks T-shirts or socks will be awarded every week.
- All you need to qualify is to register and solve one problem in the Contest Problem Group.
Jump in, try a few problems, and don’t be shy to ask questions in your team’s channel. You might walk away with a prize!
Week 1 Winners:
Weekly Prizes for Contest Problem Group Finishers:
@Mazhar, @Julien, @Mohammad Aryayi, @Pawel, @Mehdi Dehghan, @Christian Schröder, @Yolanda, @Dev Gupta, @Tomoaki Takagi, @Stefan Abendroth
Weekly Prizes for Tips & Tricks Articles:
We had a lot of people share useful tips (including some personal favorite MATLAB tricks). But Vasilis Bellos went *deep* into the Bridges of Nedsburg problem. Fittingly for a Creative Coder, his post was innovative and entertaining, while also cleverly sneaking in some hints on a neat solution method that wasn't advertised in the problem description.
Congratulations to all Week 1 winners! Prizes will be awarded after the contest ends. Let’s keep the momentum going!
What a fantastic start to Cody Contest 2025! In just 2 days, over 300 players joined the fun, and we already have our first contest group finishers. A big shoutout to the first finisher from each team:
- Team Creative Coders: @Mehdi Dehghan
- Team Cool Coders: @Pawel
- Team Relentless Coders: @David Hill
- 🏆 First finisher overall: Mehdi Dehghan
Other group finishers: @Bin Jiang (Relentless), @Mazhar (Creative), @Vasilis Bellos (Creative), @Stefan Abendroth (Creative), @Armando Longobardi (Cool), @Cephas (Cool)
Kudos to all group finishers! 🎉
Reminder to finishers: The goal of Cody Contest is learning together. Share hints (not full solutions) to help your teammates complete the problem group. The winning team will be the one with the most group finishers — teamwork matters!
To all players: Don’t be shy about asking for help! When you do, show your work — include your code, error messages, and any details needed for others to reproduce your results.
Keep solving, keep sharing, and most importantly — have fun!
Title: Looking for Internship Guidance as a Beginner MATLAB/Simulink Learner
Hello everyone,
I’m a Computer Science undergraduate currently building a strong foundation in MATLAB and Simulink. I’m still at a beginner level, but I’m actively learning every day and can work confidently once I understand the concepts. Right now I’m focusing on MATLAB modeling, physics simulation, and basic control systems so that I can contribute effectively to my current project.
I’m part of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) team preparing for the Singapore AUV Challenge (SAUVC). My role is in physics simulation, controls, and navigation, and MATLAB/Simulink plays a major role in that pipeline. I enjoy physics and mathematics deeply, which makes learning modeling and simulation very exciting for me.
On the coding side, I practice competitive programming regularly—
• Codeforces rating: ~1200
• LeetCode rating: ~1500
So I'm comfortable with logic-building and problem solving. What I’m looking for:
I want to know how a beginner like me can start applying for internships related to MATLAB, Simulink, modeling, simulation, or any engineering team where MATLAB is widely used (including companies outside MathWorks).
I would really appreciate advice from the community on:
- What skills should I strengthen first?
- Which MATLAB/Simulink toolboxes are most important for beginners aiming toward simulation/control roles?
- What small projects or portfolio examples should I build to improve my profile?
- What is the best roadmap to eventually become a good candidate for internships in this area?
Any guidance, resources, or suggestions would be extremely helpful for me.
Thank you in advance to everyone who shares their experience!
The main round of Cody Contest 2025 kicks off today! Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned solver, now’s your time to shine.
Here’s how to join the fun:
- Pick your team — choose one that matches your coding personality.
- Solve Cody problems — gain points and climb the leaderboard.
- Finish the Contest Problem Group — help your team win and unlock chances for weekly prizes by finishing the Cody Contest 2025 problem group.
- Share Tips & Tricks — post your insights to win a coveted MathWorks Yeti Bottle.
- Bonus Round — 2 players from each team will be invited to a fun live code-along event!
- Watch Party – join the big watch event to see how top players tackle Cody problems
Contest Timeline:
- Main Round: Nov 10 – Dec 7, 2025
- Bonus Round: Dec 8 – Dec 19, 2025
Big prizes await — MathWorks swag, Amazon gift cards, and shiny virtual badges!
We look forward to seeing you in the contest — learn, compete, and have fun!
Parallel Computing Onramp is here! This free, one-hour self-paced course teaches the basics of running MATLAB code in parallel using multiple CPU cores, helping users speed up their code and write code that handles information efficiently.
Remember, Onramps are free for everyone - give the new course a try if you're curious. Let us know what you think of it by replying below.
I am excited to join this community to learn the more particularly the Matlab/Simulink
I'm developing a comprehensive MATLAB programming course and seeking passionate co-trainers to collaborate!
Why MATLAB Matters:Many people underestimate MATLAB's significance in:
- Communication systems
- Signal processing
- Mathematical modeling
- Engineering applications
- Scientific computing
Course Structure:
- Foundation Module: MATLAB basics and fundamentals
- Image Processing: Practical applications and techniques
- Signal Processing: Analysis and implementation
- Machine Learning: ML algorithms using MATLAB
- Hands-on Learning: Projects, assignments.
What I'm Looking For:
- Enthusiastic educators willing to share knowledge
- Experience in any MATLAB application area
- Commitment to collaborative teaching
Interested in joining as a co-trainer? Please comment below or reach out directly!
Online Doc + System Browser
11%
Online Doc + Dedicated Browser
11%
Offline Doc +System Browser
11%
Offline Doc + Dedicated Browser
23%
Hybrid Approach (Support All Modes)
23%
User-Definable / Fully Configurable
20%
35 votes
I recently published this blog post about resources to help people learn MATLAB https://blogs.mathworks.com/matlab/2025/09/11/learning-matlab-in-2025/
What are your favourite MATLAB learning resources?
Share your learning starting trouble experience of Matlab.. Looking forward for more answers..
Helllo all
I write The MATLAB Blog and have covered various enhancements to MATLAB's ODE capabilities over the last couple of years. Here are a few such posts
- The new solution framework for Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) in MATLAB R2023b
- Faster Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) solvers and Sensitivity Analysis of Parameters: Introducing SUNDIALS support in MATLAB
- Solving Higher-Order ODEs in MATLAB
- Function handles are faster in MATLAB R2023a (Faster function handles led to faster ode45 and friends)
- Understanding Tolerances in Ordinary Differential Equation Solvers
Everyone in this community has deeply engaged with all of these posts and given me lots of ideas for future enhancements which I've dutifully added to our internal enhancment request database.
Because I've asked for so much in this area, I was recently asked if there's anything else we should consider in the area of ODEs. Since all my best ideas come from all of you, I'm asking here....
So. If you could ask for new and improved functionality for solving ODEs with MATLAB, what would it be and (ideally) why?
Cheers,
Mike
Yesterday I had an urgent service call for MatLab tech support. The Mathworks technician on call, Ivy Ngyuen, helped fix the problem. She was very patient and I truly appreciate her efforts, which resolved the issue. Thank you.
Check out how these charts were made with polar axes in the Graphics and App Building blog's latest article "Polar plots with patches and surface".
Nine new Image Processing courses plus one new learning path are now available as part of the Online Training Suite. These courses replace the content covered in the self-paced course Image Processing with MATLAB, which sunsets in 2026.
New courses include:
- Work with Image Data Types
- Image Registration
- Edge, Circle, and Line Detection
- Manage and Process Multiple Images
The new learning path Image Segmentation and Analysis in MATLAB earns users the digital credential Image Segmentation in MATLAB and contains the following courses:
Apparently, the back end here is running 2025b, hovering over the Run button and the Executing In popup both show R2024a.
ver matlab
all(logical.empty)
Discuss!
I just noticed that MATLAB R2025b is available. I am a bit surprised, as I never got notification of the beta test for it.
This topic is for highlights and experiences with R2025b.
“Hello, I am Subha & I’m part of the organizing/mentoring team for NASA Space Apps Challenge Virudhunagar 2025 🚀. We’re looking for collaborators/mentors with ML and MATLAB expertise to help our student teams bring their space solutions to life. Would you be open to guiding us, even briefly? Your support could impact students tackling real NASA challenges. 🌍✨”
