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Export Stateflow Functions for Reuse

You can extend the scope of the chart-level functions in your Stateflow® chart to other blocks in the Simulink® model by exporting the functions. You can export:

  • Graphical functions

  • MATLAB® functions

  • Simulink functions

  • Truth tables

When you export chart-level functions, you can call them in other Stateflow charts and Simulink Caller blocks.

  • To export chart-level functions that you can call by using qualified notation such as chartName.functionName, select the Export chart level functions chart property, as described in Chart.

  • To export chart-level functions that you can call without using qualified notation, select Export chart level functions, and then select Treat exported functions as globally visible. You cannot export functions with the same name.

For more information, see Call a Simulink Function from a Model (Simulink).

Share Functions Across Stateflow Charts

Open Model

This example shows how to call exported functions from other charts in your Simulink model. This model contains a main Stateflow chart, mainChart, and two auxiliary library charts, lib1Chart and lib2Chart. Each chart contains a chart-level graphical function and has both the Export chart level functions and Treat exported functions as globally visible chart properties enabled.

The main chart contains two data objects, x and y, with initial values of 0 and 1, respectively. When you simulate the model, the default transition in this chart calls the function lib1_func using these values as arguments.

The function lib1_func is defined in the library chart lib1Chart. The function reads its input arguments and passes them to the function lib2_func.

The function lib2_func is defined in the library chart lib2Chart. The function reads its input arguments and passes them to the function main_func.

The function main_func is defined in the main chart. The function adds its input arguments and returns the result. The main chart stores this result as the output data x. The sequence of function calls repeats in each time step of the simulation. The Scope block shows the value of x increasing during the simulation.

Guidelines for Exporting Chart-Level Functions

Do Not Export Chart-Level Functions That Contain Unsupported Inputs or Outputs

You cannot export a chart-level function when inputs or outputs have any of the following properties:

  • Fixed-point data type with word length greater than 32 bits

  • Variable size

Do Not Export Functions Across Model Reference Boundaries

You cannot export functions from a referenced model and call the functions from a parent model.

Combine Output and Update Functions When Generating Code

If you generate code for a model that uses exported chart-level functions, enable the model configuration parameter Single output/update function (Simulink Coder) to ensure consistent behavior between simulation and code generation.

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