Posted by Whatever your preferred working environment, we want to make BigML available to you. That’s why we’re happy to announce a new set of BigML API bindings for MATLAB. These bindings, in the form of a MATLAB class, expose all the functions of BigML’s RESTful API.
Some of you may be aware that MATLAB includes a classification and regression tree implementation. So what makes BigML different? Here are some points that stand out in our mind:
- MATLAB presents its trees as static line drawings, as seen in the screenshot below of a classification tree trained on the iris dataset. In contrast, BigML’s models are fully interactive. You can view a model built with BigML here. We think that our model interface makes it easy to follow decision paths and tease out data patterns at a glance.
- Users of MATLAB will admit that it’s not the most efficient computational platform, and that heavyweight scripts will quickly consume all your workstation’s resources. BigML on the other hand, is a cloud-based service. You can train your models in the background, leaving your machine free to perform other number crunching tasks.
- One last important difference is that in order to use MATLAB’s trees, your MATLAB installation needs to include the statistics toolbox. Our API bindings will work with just a base MATLAB install.
Keep your eyes on our blog to see an application to showcase MATLAB and BigML working together. In the meantime, grab the API bindings here, and start playing. We can’t wait to see what neat things you can accomplish!
The Official Blog of BigML.com 