Why does MATLAB add the MATLABROOT\bin directory to my path?

When MATLAB installs, it always add its "bin" directory to my path. Why?

Example: The end of my path has "C:\MathWorks\MATLAB\R2013b_32\bin" added to it.

What are the effects of having multiple version of MATLAB installed that all add themselves to my path. Right now, I have 6 version of MATLAB.

Answer 1

[Mihir Daptardar]

1. Ordinarily, you would need to specify the entire path in order to launch an application. If this path is added to the system path, you can just specify the application's name in order to launch it. Also, the application can be accessed globally from any directory using the Windows command line.

2. If you have multiple versions of MATLAB, you need to check the system path. Windows will choose the MATLAB version which comes earlier in the system path. So if for instance you have MATLAB R2012a (32 bit) and MATLAB R2010b (64bit), Windows will check which MATLAB's path comes earlier and then launch that version.