Call MATLAB from C

Run MATLAB^® code from C programs, using mxArray

Note

Functions in the Engine API for C work with the MATLAB mxArray data structure, which is defined in the C Matrix API. To write applications using modern C++ features, see Call MATLAB from C++.

Engine applications are standalone programs that allow you to call MATLAB from your own C/C++ programs, using MATLAB as a computation engine. To build an engine application, call the mex function.

Engine applications require an installed version of MATLAB; you cannot run the MATLAB engine on a machine that only has the MATLAB Runtime.

Engine API for C

`Engine`	Type for MATLAB engine
`engOpen`	Start MATLAB engine session
`engOpenSingleUse`	Start MATLAB engine session for single, nonshared use
`engClose`	Quit MATLAB engine session
`engEvalString`	Evaluate expression in string
`engGetVariable`	Copy variable from MATLAB engine workspace
`engPutVariable`	Put variable into MATLAB engine workspace
`engGetVisible`	Determine visibility of MATLAB engine session
`engSetVisible`	Show or hide MATLAB engine session
`engOutputBuffer`	Specify buffer for MATLAB output

Topics

Write Engine Applications

Create C Engine Applications Using mxArray
What to do to start building C engine applications.
MATLAB Engine APIs for C and Fortran
Call MATLAB from your own C and Fortran programs, using MATLAB as a computation engine.
Call MATLAB Functions from C Applications
Create a C engine application engdemo.c.
Attach to Existing MATLAB Sessions
This example shows how to attach an engine program to a MATLAB session that is already running.
Callbacks in Applications
Design user interface callbacks to be evaluated in the context of the base workspace.

Build and Run Windows Applications

Set Run-Time Library Path on Windows Systems
At run time, tell the operating system where the API shared libraries are by setting the Path environment variable.
Build Windows Engine Application
This example shows how to verify the build process on Windows^® platforms using the C example engwindemo.c.
Run Windows Engine Application
This example shows how to run the C example, engwindemo.c, from the Windows system prompt.
Register MATLAB as a COM Server
Register MATLAB for every session, to ensure that the current version of MATLAB is the registered version.

Build and Run Mac Applications

Set Run-Time Library Path on macOS Systems
Tell the operating system where the API shared libraries are by setting the DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable.
Build Engine Application on macOS
This example shows how to verify the build process on a macOS platform.
Run Engine Application on macOS
This example shows how to run the C example engdemo.c from the macOS Terminal Window.

Build and Run Linux Applications

Set Run-Time Library Path on Linux Systems
Tell the operating system where the API shared libraries are by setting the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable.
Build Engine Application on Linux
This example shows how to verify the build process on a Linux^® platform.
Run Engine Application on Linux
This example shows how to run the C example engdemo.c from the Linux system prompt.