Using MATLAB Coder

Creating a MATLAB Coder MEX file can substantially accelerate your MATLAB code. It is also a convenient first step in a workflow that ultimately leads to completely standalone code. When you create a MEX file, it runs in the MATLAB environment. Its inputs and outputs are available for inspection just like any other MATLAB variable. You can then use MATLAB tools for visualization, verification, and analysis.

The simplest way to generate MEX files from your MATLAB code is by using the codegen (MATLAB Coder) function at the command line. For example, if you have an existing function, myfunction.m, you can type the commands at the command line to compile and run the MEX function. codegen (MATLAB Coder) adds a platform-specific extension to this name. In this case, the "mex" suffix is added.

codegen myfunction.m
myfunction_mex;

Within your code, you can run specific commands either as generated C code or by using the MATLAB engine. In cases where an isolated command does not yet have code generation support, you can use the coder.extrinsic (MATLAB Coder) command to embed the command in your code. This means that the generated code reenters the MATLAB environment when it needs to run that particular command. This is also useful if you want to embed commands that cannot generate code (such as plotting functions).

To generate standalone executables that run independently of the MATLAB environment, create a MATLAB Coder project inside the MATLAB Coder Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Alternatively, you can call the codegen (MATLAB Coder) command in the command line environment with appropriate configuration parameters. A standalone executable requires you to write your own main.c or main.cpp function. See Generating Standalone C/C++ Executables from MATLAB Code (MATLAB Coder) for more information.

C/C++ Compiler Setup

Before using codegen (MATLAB Coder) to compile your code, you must set up your C/C++ compiler. For 32-bit Windows platforms, MathWorks^® supplies a default compiler with MATLAB. If your installation does not include a default compiler, you can supply your own compiler. For the current list of supported compilers, see Supported and Compatible Compilers on the MathWorks website. Install a compiler that is suitable for your platform, then read Setting Up the C or C++ Compiler (MATLAB Coder). After installation, at the MATLAB command prompt, run mex -setup. You can then use the codegen (MATLAB Coder) function to compile your code.

Functions and System Objects That Support Code Generation

For an alphabetized list of features supporting C/C++ code generation, see 5G Toolbox – Functions Filtered by C/C++ Code Generation.