SOM Toolbox vs. SOM_PAK

We have tried to take full advantage of the strengths of the Matlab, and therefore the SOM Toolbox is not just a SOM_PAK rewritten for Matlab but more like a new set of programs. On the other hand, it must be emphasized that the SOM Toolbox is intended to complement the SOM_PAK, not to replace it. Both program packages have their relative strengths and weaknesses, some of which are roughly characterized below:

• System requirements: Toolbox requires Matlab 5 (which is available for most common operating systems) and puts a heavier load on the memory size and processor speed; SOM_PAK requires only any (ANSI-C compliant) C compiler, and in MS-DOS, not even that as a precompiled version exists
• Customization: the Matlab code of the Toolbox is much easier to modify - requiring less expertise and time - than the C code of the SOM_PAK
• Figure formats: the Toolbox, being based on Matlab, can produce and print figures in most commonly used formats, such as BMP, PCX, PPM, JPEG, TIFF, and PostScript; SOM_PAK produces figures always in PostScript
• Variability: already, the availability of functions greatly exceeds those available for SOM_PAK

SOM_PAK and LVQ_PAK homepage at CIS..

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