Re: [Discuss-gnuradio] about matlab and Gnuradio

[Activecat]

On Thu, Mar 13, 2014 at 3:57 AM, Zan <address@hidden> wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> I have a general questions about matlab and GNUradio. Both of them are
> support USRP N210, but i want to ask what is the strength of each other? I
> guess matlab delays more than gnuradio, and has less open code. am I right?
> Anyone has more comments? thanks!
>
> Best regards
> Alex

There are many different scenario to consider:
- real-time vs off-line
- graphical vs non-graphical flow graph
- native language vs compiled language

In summary:

- Matlab is widely used for off-line analysis (even with USRP), while
gnuradio is often used for real-time analysis.

- In Matlab you need Simulink for graphical mode to work, while
Companion (GRC) is the native graphical tool for gnuradio (bundled
with gnuradio standard installation).

- To perform real-time analysis, matlab code must be translated into
C-code and be compiled, using tools like Matlab Coder or Simulink
Coder. This supports only a subset of core Matlab language features.
In gnuradio there is no such restriction (all gnuradio features are
fully supported).

-The gnuradio flow graph is built in python code, which do not need
compilation before execution, for real-time analysis.

-Gnuradio has better driver support on USRP.  Matlab doesn't support
legacy USRP.

-Graphical flow graph of GRC clearly indicates data type of each link
in different color. In Simulink flow graphs all links are black color.