MATLAB is an integrated technical computing environment developed by Cranes Software International that combines numeric computation, advanced graphics and visualisation, and a high-level programming language. MATLAB includes more than 700 function for data analysis and visualisation, numeric and symbolic computation, engineering and scientific graphics, modelling, simulation, and prototyping, programming, application development, and GUI design.

MATLAB provides easy-to-use tool environment supported by Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) like MS-WINDOWS, X-WINDOWS environment. It can be operated on any Operating System like Windows 95 / 98 / 2000, Windows NT, different flavours of UNIX, LINUX, etc., and on several platforms i.e., Pentium(PIII /PIV) based PCs, SUNSPARC, DEC Alpha, SGI-64, HP-9000, IBM-RS/6000. It is multi-platform inter-operable i.e., MATLAB applications are fully transportable without modification across different platforms. MATLAB data files(MAT files) from different environment are converted automatically. Binary files and ASCII files can be imported into MATLAB environment. MATLAB's serial port interface provides direct access to peripheral devices such as modems, printers, and scientific instruments that connect to the computer's serial port.