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A System Composer architecture represents a system of components and how they interface with each other structurally and behaviorally.

Different types of architectures describe different aspects of systems. You can use views to visualize a subset of components in an architecture. You can define parameters on the architecture level using the Parameter Editor.

A root is at the top of an architecture hierarchy. A root architecture has a boundary defined by its architecture ports that surround the system of interest.

The root architecture has a system boundary surrounding your architecture model. You can add architecture ports that define interfaces across the boundary.

Compose Architectures Visually

A System Composer model is the file that contains architectural information, such as components, ports, connectors, interfaces, and behaviors.

Perform operations on a model including extracting root-level architecture, applying profiles, linking interface data dictionaries, or generating instances from model architecture. A System Composer model is stored as an SLX file.

A component is a replaceable part of a system that fulfills a clear function in the context of an architecture. A component defines an architectural element, such as a function, another system, hardware, software, or other conceptual entity. A component can also be a subsystem or subfunction.

Represented as a block, a component is a part of an architecture model that can be separated into reusable artifacts. Transfer information between components using port interfaces and parameters. Port interfaces and parameters can be configured using the Interface Editor and the Parameter Editor.

Compose Architectures Visually

A port is a node on a component or architecture that represents a point of interaction with its environment. A port permits the flow of information to and from other components or systems.

Component ports are interaction points on the component to other components. Architecture ports are ports on the boundary of the system, whether the boundary is within a component or the overall architecture model. The root architecture has a boundary defined by its ports.

Compose Architectures Visually

Connectors are lines that provide connections between ports. Connectors describe how information flows between components or architectures.

A connector allows two components to interact without defining the nature of the interaction. Set an interface on a port to define how the components interact.

Compose Architectures Visually

A data dictionary is a repository of data relevant to your model. The Architectural Data section of a data dictionary stores shared definitions used in Simulink^® and architecture model interfaces, such as port interfaces, data types, and system wide constants. For more information, see What Is a Data Dictionary?

You can save local interfaces on a System Composer model to the Architectural Data section of a Simulink data dictionary using the Interface Editor. In addition to the Interface Editor, you can also use the Architectural Data Editor to manage and modify interfaces and value types.

A data interface defines the kind of information that flows through a port. You can assign the same interface to multiple ports. A data interface can be composite, meaning that it can include data elements that describe the properties of an interface signal.

Data interfaces represent the information that is shared through a connector and enters or exits a component through a port. Use the Interface Editor to create and manage data interfaces and data elements and store them in a data dictionary for reuse between models.

A data element describes a portion of an interface, such as a communication message, a calculated or measured parameter, or other decomposition of that interface.

Data interfaces are decomposed into data elements that can represent pins or wires in a connector or harness, messages transmitted across a bus, and data structures shared between components.

A port element represents interface elements available on a port typed by a composite or owned interface.

You can use port elements to access an element of a port by selecting the port name on the chevrons connected to root-level ports. When an interface element is typed by a composite interface, the nested port elements have two levels of hierarchy.

A value type can be used as a port interface to define the atomic piece of data that flows through that port and has a top-level type, dimension, unit, complexity, minimum, maximum, and description.

You can also assign the type of data elements in data interfaces to value types. Add value types to data dictionaries using the Interface Editor so that you can reuse the value types as interfaces or data elements.

An owned interface is an interface that is local to a specific port and not shared in a data dictionary or the model dictionary.

Create an owned interface to represent a value type or data interface that is local to a port.

An adapter connects two components with incompatible port interfaces by mapping between the two interfaces. An adapter can act as a unit delay, rate transition, or merge. You can also use an adapter for bus creation. Use the Adapter block to implement an adapter.

With an adapter, on the Interface Adapter dialog box, you can: create and edit mappings between input and output interfaces, apply an interface conversion UnitDelay to break an algebraic loop, apply an interface conversion RateTransition to reconcile different sample time rates for reference models, apply an interface conversion Merge to merge two or more message or signal lines, and when output interfaces are undefined, you can use input interfaces in bus creation mode to author owned output interfaces.