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compiler.build.comComponent

Create COM component for deployment outside MATLAB

Since R2021a

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Syntax

compiler.build.comComponent(Files)
compiler.build.comComponent(Files,Name,Value)
compiler.build.comComponent(ClassMap)
compiler.build.comComponent(ClassMap,Name,Value)
compiler.build.comComponent(opts)
results = compiler.build.comComponent(___)

Description

Caution

This function is only supported on Windows® operating systems.

compiler.build.comComponent(Files) creates a COM component using the MATLAB® functions specified by Files.

example

compiler.build.comComponent(Files,Name,Value) creates a COM component with additional options specified using one or more name-value arguments. Options include the class name, output directory, and additional files to include.

example

compiler.build.comComponent(ClassMap) creates a COM component with a class mapping specified using a container.Map object ClassMap.

example

compiler.build.comComponent(ClassMap,Name,Value) creates a COM component using ClassMap and additional options specified using one or more name-value arguments. Options include the component name, output directory, and additional files to include.

example

compiler.build.comComponent(opts) creates a COM component with options specified using a compiler.build.COMComponentOptions object opts. You cannot specify any other options using name-value arguments.

example

results = compiler.build.comComponent(___) returns build information as a compiler.build.Results object using any of the argument combinations in previous syntaxes. The build information consists of the build type, paths to the compiled files, and build options.

example

Examples

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Create a COM component on a Windows system using a function file that generates a magic square.

Ensure that you have the following installed:

In MATLAB, locate the MATLAB function that you want to deploy as a COM component. For this example, use the file magicsquare.m located in matlabroot\extern\examples\compiler.

copyfile(fullfile(matlabroot,'extern','examples','compiler','magicsquare.m'));
appFile = which('magicsquare.m')

Build a COM component using the compiler.build.comComponent command.

compiler.build.comComponent(appFile);

The build function creates the following files within a folder named magicsquarecomComponent in your current working directory:

  • dlldata.c — C source code file that contains entry points and data structures required by the class factory for the DLL.

  • GettingStarted.html — HTML file that contains steps on installing COM components.

  • includedSupportPackages.txt — Text file that lists all support files included in the component.

  • magicsquare.def — Module definition file that defines which functions to include in the DLL export table.

  • magicsquare.rc — Resource script file that describes the resources used by the component.

  • magicsquare_1_0.dll — Dynamic-link library file.

  • magicsquare_dll.cpp — C++ source code file that contains helper functions.

  • magicsquare_idl.h — C++ header file.

  • magicsquare_idl.idl — Interface definition language file.

  • magicsquare_idl.tlb — Type library file that contains information about the COM object properties and methods.

  • magicsquare_idl_i.c — C source code file that contains the IIDs and CLSIDs for the IDL interface.

  • magicsquare_idl_p.c — C source code file that contains the proxy stub code for the IDL interface.

  • magicsquareClass_com.cpp — C++ source code file that defines the class.

  • magicsquareClass_com.hpp — C++ header file that defines the class.

  • mccExcludedFiles.log — Log file that contains a list of any toolbox functions that were not included in the application. For information on non-supported functions, see MATLAB Compiler Limitations.

  • mwcomtypes.h — C++ header file that contains the definitions for the interfaces.

  • mwcomtypes_i.c — C source code file that contains the IIDs and CLSIDs.

  • mwcomtypes_p.c — C source code file that contains the proxy stub code.

  • readme.txt — Text file that contains deployment information.

  • requiredMCRProducts.txt — Text file that contains product IDs of products required by MATLAB Runtime to run the application.

  • unresolvedSymbols.txt — Text file that contains information on unresolved symbols.

For an example showing how to integrate this component into a standalone Microsoft® Visual Basic® application, see Integrate Magic Square into a COM Application.

For more information about IDL and C++ coding rules for building COM objects and mappings to other languages, see the Microsoft Documentation.

Create a COM component on a Windows system and customize it using name-value arguments.

For this example, use the files flames.m and flames.mat located in matlabroot\extern\examples\compiler.

appFile = fullfile(matlabroot,'extern','examples','compiler','flames.m');
MATFile = fullfile(matlabroot,'extern','examples','compiler','flames.mat');

Build a COM component using the compiler.build.comComponent command. Use name-value arguments to specify the component name and version, add a MAT-file, and enable verbose output.

compiler.build.comComponent(appFile, ...
'ComponentName','MyFlames','ComponentVersion','2.0', ...
'AdditionalFiles',MATFile,'Verbose','on');

For an example showing how to integrate this component into a standalone Microsoft Visual Basic application, see Integrate Magic Square into a COM Application.

Create a COM component on a Windows system using a class map and multiple function files.

Create a containers.Map object whose keys are class names and whose values are the locations of function files.

cmap = containers.Map;
cmap('Class1') = {'exampleFcn1.m'};
cmap('Class2') = {'exampleFcn2.m','exampleFcn3.m'};

Build a COM component using the compiler.build.comComponent command. Use name-value arguments to specify the component name and version.

compiler.build.comComponent(cmap, ...
'ComponentName','MyComponent', ...
'ComponentVersion','2.0');

For an example showing how to integrate this component into a standalone Microsoft Visual Basic application, see Integrate Magic Square into a COM Application.

Create multiple COM components on a Windows system using a compiler.build.COMComponentOptions object.

For this example, use the file magicsquare.m located in matlabroot\extern\examples\compiler.

appFile = fullfile(matlabroot,'extern','examples','compiler','magicsquare.m');

Create a COMComponentOptions object using appFile. Use name-value arguments to specify a common output directory, generate the assembly archives separately, and enable verbose output.

opts = compiler.build.COMComponentOptions(appFile,...
'OutputDir','D:\Documents\MATLAB\work\COMComponentBatch',...
'EmbedArchive','off',...
'Verbose','on')
opts = 

  COMComponentOptions with properties:

                 ClassMap: [1×1 containers.Map]
            ComponentName: 'magicsquare'
         ComponentVersion: '1.0.0.0'
               DebugBuild: off
             EmbedArchive: off
          AdditionalFiles: {}
      AutoDetectDataFiles: on
    ExternalEncryptionKey: [0×0 struct]
         ObfuscateArchive: off
          SecretsManifest: ''
          SupportPackages: {'autodetect'}
                  Verbose: on
                OutputDir: 'D:\Documents\MATLAB\work\COMComponentBatch'

   Class Map Information
         magicsquareClass: {'C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2024b\extern\examples\compiler\magicsquare.m'}

Build the COM component using the COMComponentOptions object.

compiler.build.comComponent(opts);

To compile using the function file myMagic2.m with the same options, use dot notation to modify the ClassMap of the existing COMComponentOptions object before running the build function again.

remove(opts.ClassMap, keys(opts.ClassMap));
opts.ClassMap('myMagic2Class') = 'myMagic2.m';
compiler.build.comComponent(opts);

By modifying the ClassMap argument and recompiling, you can create multiple components using the same options object.

Create a COM component on a Windows system and save information about the build type, generated files, included support packages, and build options to a compiler.build.Results object.

Compile using the file magicsquare.m.

results = compiler.build.comComponent('magicsquare.m')
results = 

  Results with properties:

              BuildType: 'comComponent'
                  Files: {2×1 cell}
IncludedSupportPackages: {}
                Options: [1×1 compiler.build.COMComponentOptions]

The Files property contains the paths to the following compiled files:

  • magicsquare_1_0.dll

  • GettingStarted.html

Input Arguments

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Files implementing MATLAB functions, specified as a character vector, a string scalar, a string array, or a cell array of character vectors. File paths can be relative to the current working directory or absolute. Files must have one of the following extensions: .m, .p, .mlx, or .mexa64.

Example: ["myfunc1.m","myfunc2.m"]

Data Types: char | string | cell

Class map, specified as a containers.Map object. Map keys are class names and each value is the set of files mapped to the corresponding class. Files must have one of the following extensions: .m, .p, .mlx, or .mexa64.

Example: cmap

COM component build options, specified as a compiler.build.COMComponentOptions object.

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Before R2021a, use commas to separate each name and value, and enclose Name in quotes.

Example: 'EmbedArchive','on'

Additional files and folders to include in the COM component, specified as a character vector, a string scalar, a string array, or a cell array of character vectors. Paths can be relative to the current working directory or absolute.

Example: 'AdditionalFiles',["myvars.mat","data.txt"]

Data Types: char | string | cell

Flag to automatically include data files, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

  • If you set this property to 'on', then data files that you provide as inputs to certain functions (such as load and fopen) are automatically included in the COM component.

  • If you set this property to 'off', then you must add data files to the component using the AdditionalFiles property.

Example: 'AutoDetectDataFiles','off'

Data Types: logical

Name of the COM class, specified as a character vector or a string scalar. You cannot specify this option if you use a ClassMap input. Class names must match the COM class name requirements.

The default value is the name of the first file listed in the Files argument appended with Class.

Example: 'ClassName','magicsquareClass'

Data Types: char | string

Name of the COM component, specified as a character vector or a string scalar. The value acts as the program ID that is entered into the Windows Registry. The default name of the generated component is the first entry of the Files argument. The name must begin with a letter and contain only alphabetic characters and periods.

Example: 'ComponentName','mycomponent'

Data Types: char | string

Component version, specified as a character vector or a string scalar. For information on versioning using MATLAB Compiler SDK™, see Versioning.

Example: 'ComponentVersion','4.0'

Data Types: char | string

Flag to include debug symbols, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

  • If you set this property to 'on', then debugging symbol information is included in the compiled artifact. This option also causes mbuild to pass appropriate debugging flags to the system compiler. The debug option lets you back trace up to the point where you can identify if the failure occurred in the initialization of MATLAB Runtime, the function call, or the termination routine. This option does not let you debug your MATLAB files with an external debugger.

  • If you set this property to 'off', then debug symbols are not included. This is the default option.

Example: 'DebugBuild','on'

Data Types: logical

Flag to embed the deployable archive, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

  • If you set this property to 'on', then the function embeds the deployable archive in the COM component.

  • If you set this property to 'off', then the function generates the deployable archive as a separate file.

Example: 'EmbedArchive','off'

Data Types: logical

Since R2024b

Paths to the external AES encryption key and MEX key loader files, specified as a scalar struct with exactly two row char vector or string scalar fields named EncryptionKeyFile and RuntimeKeyLoaderFile, respectively. Both struct fields are required. File paths can be relative to the current working directory or absolute.

For example, specify the encryption key as encrypt.key and loader file as loader.mexw64 using struct keyValueStruct.

keyValueStruct.EncryptionKeyFile='encrypt.key'; keyValueStruct.RuntimeKeyLoaderFile='loader.mexw64'

The encryption key file must be in one of the following supported formats:

  • Binary 256-bit AES key, with a 32 byte file size

  • Hex encoded AES key, with a 64 byte file size

The MEX file loader retrieves the decryption key at runtime and must be an interface with the following arguments:

  • prhs[0] — Input, char array specified as the static value 'get'

  • prhs[1] — Input, char array specified as the CTF component UUID

  • plhs[0] — Output, 32 byte UINT8 numeric array or 64 byte hex encoded char array, depending on the key format

Avoid sharing the same key across multiple CTFs.

Example: 'ExternalEncryptionKey',keyValueStruct

Data Types: struct

Flag to obfuscate the deployable archive, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

  • If you set this property to 'on', then folder structures and file names in the deployable archive are obfuscated from the end user, and user code and data contained in MATLAB files are placed into a user package within the archive. Additionally, all .m files are converted to P-files before packaging. This option is equivalent to using mcc with -j and -s specified.

  • If you set this property to 'off', then the deployable archive is not obfuscated. This is the default behavior.

Example: 'ObfuscateArchive','on'

Data Types: logical

Path to the output directory where the build files are saved, specified as a character vector or a string scalar. The path can be relative to the current working directory or absolute.

The default name of the build folder is the component name appended with comComponent.

Example: 'OutputDir','D:\Documents\MATLAB\work\mycomponentcomComponent'

Data Types: char | string

Since R2024b

Path to a secret manifest JSON file that specifies the secret keys to be embedded in the deployable archive, specified as a character vector or a string scalar. The path can be relative to the current working directory or absolute.

If your MATLAB code calls the getSecret, getSecretMetadata, or isSecret function, you must specify the secret keys to embed in the deployable archive in a JSON secret manifest file. If your code calls getSecret and you do not specify the SecretsManifest option, MATLAB Compiler™ issues a warning and generates a template JSON file in the output folder named <component_name>_secrets_manifest.json. Modify this file by specifying the secret key names in the Embedded field.

The setSecret function is not deployable. To embed secret keys in a deployable archive, you must call setSecret in MATLAB before you build the archive.

For more information on deployment using secrets, see Handle Sensitive Information in Deployed Applications.

Example: 'SecretsManifest','D:\Documents\MATLAB\work\mycomponent\mycomponent_secrets_manifest.json'

Data Types: char | string

Support packages to include, specified as one of the following options:

  • 'autodetect' (default) — The dependency analysis process detects and includes the required support packages automatically.

  • 'none' — No support packages are included. Using this option can cause runtime errors.

  • A string scalar, character vector, or cell array of character vectors — Only the specified support packages are included. To list installed support packages or those used by a specific file, see compiler.codetools.deployableSupportPackages.

Example: 'SupportPackages',{'Deep Learning Toolbox Converter for TensorFlow Models','Deep Learning Toolbox Model for Places365-GoogLeNet Network'}

Data Types: char | string | cell

Flag to control build verbosity, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

  • If you set this property to 'on', then the MATLAB command window displays progress information indicating compiler output during the build process.

  • If you set this property to 'off', then the command window does not display progress information.

Example: 'Verbose','on'

Data Types: logical

Output Arguments

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Build results, returned as a compiler.build.Results object. The Results object contains:

  • The build type, which is 'comComponent'

  • Paths to the following files:

    • ComponentName_ComponentVersion.dll

    • GettingStarted.html

  • Included support packages

  • Build options, specified as a COMComponentOptions object

Limitations

  • This function is only supported on Windows operating systems.

Version History

Introduced in R2021a

See Also

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