List of version number for each ML version including numbered updates?

Is there an overview published - e.g. a list - which answers the following question:

Which ist the exact "version" of each main release or update with a certain number.

e.g.

ML 2020b ==> 9.9.0.123456

ML 2020b update 1 ==> 9.9.0.246802

...

Thank you

[Adam Danz]

This doesn't include a list of updates but to see a table of Matlab release names and their corresponding version numbers see the Matlab Wiki page.

[Tom Hawkins]

That Wikipedia page no longer contains a table of release names and version numbers.

Answer 1

[Steven Lord]

I'm curious how you would use this information if it was available. If you're planning to use it to ask "Are you using a version that is 'late enough' to have access to a certain feature", use the first three parts of the version number with the verLessThan function. If you just want to display that information (for instance to record in a report the exact release you're using, to potentially aid in reproducibility of your results) you can display the output of the version function.

[Jan]

I'm using some checks of the update status to warn users for unfixed errors. E.g. version 6.5 contained a bug, which damages the file system under windows, when calling EXIST(Folder, 'dir') on a network drive. 6.5.1 fixed this bug, so my tools refuse to work with 6.5.0 because I do not want to destroy the system of a customer. In this case it was not even fair to run a unit-test, which declares: "Your system has been destroyed. Please restore it from a backup."

A built-in Matlab function like isMatlabUptodate would be nice, but the computer might be off-line such that this information must be hard-coded from the user.

[Bernhard Klingseis]

Thanks for your answer, too. I just want to use the information to be able to communicate to e.g. one of my colleagues in an unmistakable way about the one or the other release: even if I would not have it installed on a machine, for instance.

[Jan]

@Bernhard Klingseis: Then the output of version might be sufficient:

version
% '9.5.0.1067069 (R2018b) Update 4'

But if the first part is not known, the last is unique already:

% '(R2018b) Update 4'

[Walter Roberson]

it is not clear whether the build number is the same for all operating systems. If Mathworks fixes an installation glitch affecting Linux only, will they definitely re-release for the other operating systems with matching build numbers?

[Steven Lord]

Jan: If you're checking up to the first three components of the version number for a product (6.5 versus 6.5.1), verLessThan should be sufficient for that task. Or do you really need to distinguish between, for example, Update 1 for release R2020a and Update 2 for release R2020a which I believe generally does not update those first three components of the release number?

Re a function like isMATLABUpToDate: Do you need to be able to check this programmatically or would the "Check for Updates" item on the Help menu in the Resources section of the Home tab of the toolstrip be sufficient?

Walter: Personally I would advise you not to make decisions based on the fourth components of the version number.

[Bernhard Klingseis]

@Jan - this is of course a good point - sorry for not 100% exact asking the question. In fact some colleagues seem to handle their information about the version with the one or the other way - and I was thinking that - if I had both of them available - I'd never have a problem.

[Jan]

@Steven Lord: Thanks. I think, there is no need for a function to check if all updates have been applied. A programmer cannot catch all possible troubles. Therefore it should be the job of the users to keep their system uptodate.

Version 6.5.0 was an exception, because it could cause a damage of the file system. Fortunately all other bugs of MATLAB I was faced with have been less severe and could be managed by unit-tests. Therefore such tests are better than checking the version number oder update status.

[Bernhard Klingseis]

Does anybody actually have the version number of the 2020b update 4 release please? Thank you!

[Walter Roberson]

MATLAB Version: 9.9.0.1576564 (R2020b) Update 4

... At least for the version running on MATLAB Online. Which is not guaranteed to be the same as in general release.

[Bernhard Klingseis]

Thanks!

[Adam Danz]

UseCase

I want to use verLessThan to limit a section of code to releases r2018a and later. But since I need to provide the version number and not the release name, I need to open wiki and look it up on the Matlab page, unless there's another method I'm not aware of.

Likewise, if I'm reading someone's code that use verLessThan and release name is not mentioned in the comments, I need to look it up.

It would be nice if we could do something like,

v = version(specificVersion,'-versionOption')

where specificVersion is a string/charvec that specifies any version or release name of Matlab.

For example,

v = version('9.0','-release')
v = 
    '2016a'
  
v = version('2018b')
v = 
    '9.5' % base version number
    
% not sure how this would be useful, but...
[v d] = version('9.8')
v = 
    '2020a'
d = 
    'September 17, 2020'

[Steven Lord]

That's an interesting idea, and I think a reasonable enhancement request to file with Technical Support. It could get challenging, though.

I'll take your word that version 9.0 of MATLAB is part of release R2016a. But version 9.0 would be release R2020b if we're talking about Optimization Toolbox. I'd guess it would be release R2018b or R2019a of Computer Vision Toolbox given that version 9.3 of that toolbox is part of release R2020b. Meanwhile I don't think Symbolic Math Toolbox has reached version 9.0 yet (release R2020b's version of that toolbox is 8.6.)

That's one of the reasons we have release numbers, so you can easily tell if two products have been qualified together and are intended to work together. MATLAB version 9.9 (R2020b) and Symbolic Math Toolbox version 8.6 (R2020b) have the same release number so they are expected to work together.

Answer 2

[Jan]

You find list e.g. here:

• https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/492752-table-of-matlab-release-features
• https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/63569-matlabrelver-s
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MATLAB

But these lists do not contain the release numbers of updates.

One of the problems for creating such a list is that MathWorks has changed the naming scheme repeatedly. So updates have been called "SP", "ServicePack" and "Update". The releases have been called "Volume 8", "R11.1", "R13SP2" until they have found the current scheme "R2006a". After version 7.9 they decided to publish 7.10, which let crash many codes cofusing this with 7.1 by a numerical comparison.

I've adjusted my methods for identifying the version and release over a dozen of times now and I do not dare to publish them, except for the simple methods shown above.

This seems to be a standard in modern software development. The jump from Windows 7 to Windows 10 was as smart as calling the "2003" update "2004" to avoid a confusion with Windows Server 2003. The next idea "20H2" was surprising also and even the builtin tools have expected a numerical values, such that a new registry key conatins "20H2" while the formerly used one is "2009".

My conclusion: Do not rely on methods to determine a specific Matlab version or update. Prefer using unit tests, which check, if the code works as expected and if these tests fail, print the question in colorful letters:

fprintf(2, '??? Did you install the latest updates of MATLAB?\n')

[Bernhard Klingseis]

Thanks a lot for your answer. (even if it means more or less 'no').

[Adam Danz]

Nice function, Jan! This is what I was describing as a requested extension of the version function in Steven's answer.

Here's the update if you're maintaining the function

    '9.3',    'R2017b'; ...
    '9.4',    'R2018a'; ...
    '9.5',    'R2018b'; ...
    '9.6',    'R2019a'; ...
    '9.7',    'R2019b'; ...
    '9.8',    'R2020a'; ...
    '9.9',    'R2020b'; ...
    '9.10',   'R2021a'};