How do I cite files from MATLAB Central/File Exchange in a bibliography?

I am going to publish my tool package to a scientific journal. The tool package uses some of the codes from MATLAB Central/File Exchange. I would like to know the appropriate way to cite these files in a bibliography.

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

From the standpoint of the File Exchange, all we would ask for is that the File Exchange submissions are recognized. The simplest way to do this would be to reference the URL of the file you would like to cite. You can use the following blog post as a guideline:

 <http://blogs.mathworks.com/community/2010/12/13/citing-file-exchange-submissions/>

Include the author’s name, the date and the file URL as per the style convention conforming to the publishing journal.

Please note that there might be licensing issues associated with using the files with GPL license from MATLAB Central/File Exchange. We cannot provide you with the legal advice on the licensing issues, but if your tool package uses the files with GPL license you may also provide reference to the following:

 <http://www.opensource.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html>

How this applies depends on how you use the GPL code in your package.