ZEMAX features a built-in DDE (Dynamic Data Exchange) server that allows other Windows^® applications access to ZEMAX functions. Programming DDE applications can be somewhat complex if you are working in a compiled language such as C++. An alternative is to use one of the scripting languages such as Tcl, Python or Matlab. Matlab is a great choice since it is much more than a scripting language. Matlab provides a wealth of functions for processing and visualizing scientific and engineering data and there are toolboxes for Matlab that extend the basic capabilities into a wide variety of more specialized areas and disciplines.