programming languages

Rank

Matlab vs R

  1. I am sometimes embarrassed to admit to my peers that I know this language

    92% 8%
    Matlab 12 out of 13 picked Matlab over R R

  2. Developers who primarily use this language often burn out after a few years

    90% 10%
    Matlab 10 out of 11 picked Matlab over R R

  3. I enjoy playing with this language but would never use it for "real code"

    83% 17%
    Matlab 10 out of 12 picked Matlab over R R

  4. Writing code in this language is a lot of work

    81% 19%
    Matlab 13 out of 16 picked Matlab over R R

  5. This language is frequently used for applications it isn't suitable for

    81% 19%
    Matlab 13 out of 16 picked Matlab over R R

  6. This language is well documented

    80% 20%
    Matlab 16 out of 20 picked Matlab over R R

  7. I learned this language early in my career as a programmer

    80% 20%
    Matlab 16 out of 20 picked Matlab over R R

  8. This language makes it easy to shoot yourself in the foot

    76% 24%
    Matlab 10 out of 13 picked Matlab over R R

  9. This language excels at concurrency

    72% 28%
    Matlab 8 out of 11 picked Matlab over R R

  10. I often get angry when writing code in this language

    72% 28%
    Matlab 13 out of 18 picked Matlab over R R

  11. It's unusual for me to discover unfamiliar features

    71% 29%
    Matlab 5 out of 7 picked Matlab over R R

  12. This language has a niche outside of which I would not use it

    70% 30%
    Matlab 12 out of 17 picked Matlab over R R

  13. This language has many features which feel "tacked on"

    70% 30%
    Matlab 12 out of 17 picked Matlab over R R

  14. There is a lot of accidental complexity when writing code in this language

    69% 31%
    Matlab 9 out of 13 picked Matlab over R R

  15. The thought that I may still be using this language in twenty years time fills me with dread

    68% 32%
    Matlab 11 out of 16 picked Matlab over R R

  16. This is a mainstream language

    66% 34%
    Matlab 14 out of 21 picked Matlab over R R

  17. I often write things in this language with the intent of rewriting them in something else later

    66% 34%
    Matlab 8 out of 12 picked Matlab over R R

  18. This language would be good for teaching children to write software

    66% 34%
    Matlab 14 out of 21 picked Matlab over R R

  19. This language has a high quality implementation

    65% 35%
    Matlab 13 out of 20 picked Matlab over R R

  20. This language has a very rigid idea of how things should be done

    63% 37%
    Matlab 7 out of 11 picked Matlab over R R

  21. This language has unusual features that I often miss when using other languages

    63% 37%
    Matlab 7 out of 11 picked Matlab over R R

  22. Code written in this language is very readable

    61% 39%
    Matlab 13 out of 21 picked Matlab over R R

  23. It is easy to debug programs written in this language when it goes wrong

    61% 39%
    Matlab 8 out of 13 picked Matlab over R R

  24. It is too easy to write code in this language that looks like it does one thing but actually does something else

    61% 39%
    Matlab 8 out of 13 picked Matlab over R R

  25. I am reluctant to admit to knowing this language

    61% 39%
    Matlab 8 out of 13 picked Matlab over R R

  26. Code written in this language tends to be verbose

    61% 39%
    Matlab 11 out of 18 picked Matlab over R R

  27. Libraries in this language tend to be well documented.

    60% 40%
    Matlab 14 out of 23 picked Matlab over R R

  28. I know this language well

    60% 40%
    Matlab 121 out of 201 picked Matlab over R R

  29. This is a low level language

    60% 40%
    Matlab 6 out of 10 picked Matlab over R R

  30. This language is likely to be a passing fad

    60% 40%
    Matlab 12 out of 20 picked Matlab over R R

  31. This language is suitable for real-time applications

    60% 40%
    Matlab 6 out of 10 picked Matlab over R R

  32. This language is good for beginners

    60% 40%
    Matlab 12 out of 20 picked Matlab over R R

  33. If my code in this language successfully compiles, there is a good chance my code is correct.

    57% 43%
    Matlab 15 out of 26 picked Matlab over R R

  34. I find it easy to write efficient code in this language

    57% 43%
    Matlab 8 out of 14 picked Matlab over R R

  35. Code written in this language tends to be terse

    56% 44%
    Matlab 9 out of 16 picked Matlab over R R

  36. This language encourages writing code that is easy to maintain.

    55% 45%
    Matlab 11 out of 20 picked Matlab over R R

  37. The semantics of this language are much different than other languages I know.

    54% 46%
    Matlab 13 out of 24 picked Matlab over R R

  38. This language is well suited for an agile development approach using short iterations.

    52% 48%
    Matlab 9 out of 17 picked Matlab over R R

  39. This language is large

    52% 48%
    Matlab 9 out of 17 picked Matlab over R R

  40. This language is minimal

    52% 48%
    Matlab 11 out of 21 picked Matlab over R R

  41. This language has an annoying syntax

    52% 48%
    Matlab 12 out of 23 picked Matlab over R R

  42. This language has a strong static type system

    50% 50%
    Matlab 6 out of 12 each for R and Matlab R

  43. I would use this language for a desktop GUI project

    50% 50%
    Matlab 7 out of 14 each for R and Matlab R

  44. This language has a very dogmatic community

    50% 50%
    Matlab 7 out of 14 each for R and Matlab R

  45. I know many other people who use this language

    50% 50%
    Matlab 8 out of 16 each for R and Matlab R

  46. This language is easier to use for it's problem domain by removing unneeded expressiveness (such as not being Turing complete).

    50% 50%
    Matlab 4 out of 8 each for R and Matlab R

  47. This language excels at symbolic manipulation

    50% 50%
    Matlab 8 out of 16 each for R and Matlab R

  48. I would use this language for writing server programs

    50% 50%
    Matlab 7 out of 14 each for R and Matlab R

  49. This language is likely to be around for a very long time

    47% 53%
    Matlab 10 out of 19 picked R over Matlab R

  50. Programs written in this language tend to be efficient

    47% 53%
    Matlab 9 out of 17 picked R over Matlab R

  51. I use a lot of code written in this language which I really don't want to have to make changes to

    46% 54%
    Matlab 8 out of 15 picked R over Matlab R

  52. There are many good commercial tools for this language

    46% 54%
    Matlab 7 out of 13 picked R over Matlab R

  53. I would use this language for mobile applications

    46% 54%
    Matlab 7 out of 13 picked R over Matlab R

  54. I find this language easy to prototype in

    46% 54%
    Matlab 7 out of 13 picked R over Matlab R

  55. Learning this language significantly changed how I use other languages.

    45% 55%
    Matlab 13 out of 24 picked R over Matlab R

  56. When I run into problems my colleagues can provide me with immediate help with this language

    45% 55%
    Matlab 6 out of 11 picked R over Matlab R

  57. I would use this language for writing programs for an embedded hardware platform

    45% 55%
    Matlab 6 out of 11 picked R over Matlab R

  58. It is easy to tell at a glance what code in this language does

    44% 56%
    Matlab 5 out of 9 picked R over Matlab R

  59. This language is good for numeric computing

    44% 56%
    Matlab 10 out of 18 picked R over Matlab R

  60. I usually use this language on projects with many other members

    43% 57%
    Matlab 9 out of 16 picked R over Matlab R

  61. This language is good for scientific computing

    43% 57%
    Matlab 9 out of 16 picked R over Matlab R

  62. This language excels at text processing

    43% 57%
    Matlab 9 out of 16 picked R over Matlab R

  63. Third-party libraries are readily available, well-documented, and of high quality

    41% 59%
    Matlab 7 out of 12 picked R over Matlab R

  64. This language is best for very small projects

    41% 59%
    Matlab 7 out of 12 picked R over Matlab R

  65. I rarely have difficulty abstracting patterns I find in my code

    41% 59%
    Matlab 10 out of 17 picked R over Matlab R

  66. Learning this language improved my ability as a programmer

    41% 59%
    Matlab 10 out of 17 picked R over Matlab R

  67. This language is unusually bad for beginners

    40% 60%
    Matlab 9 out of 15 picked R over Matlab R

  68. I find code written in this language very elegant

    40% 60%
    Matlab 9 out of 15 picked R over Matlab R

  69. This language matches it's problem domain particularly well.

    40% 60%
    Matlab 12 out of 20 picked R over Matlab R

  70. This is a high level language

    40% 60%
    Matlab 9 out of 15 picked R over Matlab R

  71. This language is likely to have a strong influence on future languages

    38% 62%
    Matlab 11 out of 18 picked R over Matlab R

  72. This language is good for distributed computing

    38% 62%
    Matlab 11 out of 18 picked R over Matlab R

  73. If this language didn't exist, I would have trouble finding a satisfactory replacement

    38% 62%
    Matlab 13 out of 21 picked R over Matlab R

  74. I would like to write more of this language than I currently do

    36% 64%
    Matlab 14 out of 22 picked R over Matlab R

  75. When I write code in this language I can be very sure it is correct

    36% 64%
    Matlab 7 out of 11 picked R over Matlab R

  76. I would use this language as a scripting language embedded inside a larger application

    35% 65%
    Matlab 9 out of 14 picked R over Matlab R

  77. Code written in this language tends to be very reliable

    35% 65%
    Matlab 9 out of 14 picked R over Matlab R

  78. This language allows me to write programs where I know exactly what they are doing under the hood

    33% 67%
    Matlab 8 out of 12 picked R over Matlab R

  79. I can imagine using this language in my day job

    33% 67%
    Matlab 8 out of 12 picked R over Matlab R

  80. This language is very flexible

    33% 67%
    Matlab 8 out of 12 picked R over Matlab R

  81. This language has a very coherent design

    31% 69%
    Matlab 11 out of 16 picked R over Matlab R

  82. I would use this language for a web project

    31% 69%
    Matlab 11 out of 16 picked R over Matlab R

  83. There are many good tools for this language

    30% 70%
    Matlab 9 out of 13 picked R over Matlab R

  84. I would recommend most programmers learn this language, regardless of whether they have a specific need for it

    30% 70%
    Matlab 14 out of 20 picked R over Matlab R

  85. This language encourages writing reusable code.

    30% 70%
    Matlab 14 out of 20 picked R over Matlab R

  86. I regularly use this language

    29% 71%
    Matlab 12 out of 17 picked R over Matlab R

  87. I would use this language for casual scripting

    29% 71%
    Matlab 12 out of 17 picked R over Matlab R

  88. This language has a good library distribution mechanism.

    29% 71%
    Matlab 17 out of 24 picked R over Matlab R

  89. I often feel like I am not smart enough to write this language

    28% 72%
    Matlab 10 out of 14 picked R over Matlab R

  90. This language has a good community

    28% 72%
    Matlab 10 out of 14 picked R over Matlab R

  91. This language has a niche in which it is great

    28% 72%
    Matlab 10 out of 14 picked R over Matlab R

  92. I use this language out of choice

    27% 73%
    Matlab 16 out of 22 picked R over Matlab R

  93. Programs written in this language tend to play well with others

    27% 73%
    Matlab 16 out of 22 picked R over Matlab R

  94. I use many applications written in this language

    26% 74%
    Matlab 11 out of 15 picked R over Matlab R

  95. This language is best for very large projects

    26% 74%
    Matlab 11 out of 15 picked R over Matlab R

  96. Code written in this language will usually run in all the major implementations if it runs in one of them.

    26% 74%
    Matlab 14 out of 19 picked R over Matlab R

  97. This language is built on a small core of orthogonal features

    25% 75%
    Matlab 12 out of 16 picked R over Matlab R

  98. I still discover new features of this language on a fairly regular basis

    25% 75%
    Matlab 12 out of 16 picked R over Matlab R

  99. I would use this language to write a command-line app

    25% 75%
    Matlab 15 out of 20 picked R over Matlab R

  100. The resources for learning this language are of high quality

    25% 75%
    Matlab 9 out of 12 picked R over Matlab R

  101. This language has well-organized libraries with consistent, carefully thought-out interfaces

    23% 77%
    Matlab 13 out of 17 picked R over Matlab R

  102. I would list this language on my resume

    23% 77%
    Matlab 13 out of 17 picked R over Matlab R

  103. I can imagine this will be a popular language in twenty years time

    22% 78%
    Matlab 14 out of 18 picked R over Matlab R

  104. I enjoy using this language

    21% 79%
    Matlab 11 out of 14 picked R over Matlab R

  105. This language is expressive

    21% 79%
    Matlab 11 out of 14 picked R over Matlab R

  106. There are many good open-source tools for this language

    18% 82%
    Matlab 13 out of 16 picked R over Matlab R

  107. Programs written in this language will usually work in future versions of the language

    16% 84%
    Matlab 10 out of 12 picked R over Matlab R

  108. This language has a wide variety of agreed-upon conventions, which are generally adhered to reasonably well, and which increase my productivity

    12% 88%
    Matlab 7 out of 8 picked R over Matlab R

  109. I usually use this language on solo projects

    8% 92%
    Matlab 11 out of 12 picked R over Matlab R

  110. There is a wide variety of open source code written in this language

    6% 94%
    Matlab 15 out of 16 picked R over Matlab R

What's going on here?

The absolute rankings are interesting for large scale comparisons but when you want to know about two specific languages it's much more informative to look at how the two fare when they go directly head to head.

Here are all the statements which we've got enough comparisons between Matlab and R to be meaningful and which of the two our users picked.

The order in which we're presenting them is a little arbitrary (sorry), but we've tried to put the things which they're both good at first so as to give you the most interesting picture of it.