UI in Matlab to get inputs to be used in a script - matlab

Question

I am trying to create a GUI for my script in Matlab. At the moment I am opening this dialog boxes in my script to get the inputs I need.
prompt = {'Mass [kg]:','Power [kW]:','Drag Coeff:','Lift Coeff:','Area Front [m^2]:'};
dlgtitle = 'Vehicle Parameters';
dims = [1 35];
definput = {'752','650','1','3','1'};
vehicle = inputdlg(prompt,dlgtitle,dims,definput);
prompt = {'Friction Coeff:','Air Density [kg/m^3]:'};
dlgtitle = 'External Parameters';
dims = [1 35];
definput = {'1.4','1.19'};
ambient = inputdlg(prompt,dlgtitle,dims,definput);
prompt = {'Length [m]:','Corner Radius [m]:'};
dlgtitle = 'Track Parameters';
dims = [1 35];
definput = {'1000','150'};
track = inputdlg(prompt,dlgtitle,dims,definput);
Here the code continues
laptime = formula used to get the laptime;
However I would like to create something similar to what this image shows, where I can write the parameters, push the run button to run the script and get the laptime printed. Any suggestions on how I could achieve it?
Thanks a lot in advance!

Answer 1

steeven:
From inspecting your image, you essentially will need:
A figure object.
Ten(10) field objects.
Ten(10) Static text objects.
A pushbutton object
A callback function.
Here's a sample script:
clc
clear
close all %Very important when making GUI's in MATLAB!
%figure object that contains GUI.
f = figure('units','normalized');
%Uicontrols devoted to static text:
m_text = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','Text');
P_text = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','Text');
FS_text = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','Text');
CD_text = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','Text');
CL_text = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','Text');
CF_text = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','Text');
rho_text = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','Text');
len_text = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','Text');
rad_text = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','Text');
%Uicontrols devoted to editable fields:
m_edit = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','edit');
P_edit = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','edit');
FS_edit = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','edit');
CD_edit = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','edit');
CL_edit = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','edit');
CF_edit = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','edit');
rho_edit = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','edit');
len_edit = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','edit');
rad_edit = uicontrol('Parent',f,'units','normalized','Style','edit');
% MLG Cell array strat.
ui_texts = {m_text,P_text,FS_text,CD_text,CL_text,CF_text,rho_text,...
len_text,rad_text};
strings = {'mass','power','Front Section','Drag Coefficient',...
'Lift Coefficient','Friction Coefficient','Air Density','Length',...
'Radius'};
ui_edits = {m_edit,P_edit,FS_edit,CD_edit,CL_edit,CF_edit,rho_edit,...
len_edit,rad_edit};
defaults = {'10','100','0.5','0.05','1.2','0.0005','1.225','5','3'};
xi = 0.05; %X-coordinate of Bottom-Left corner.
yi = 0.85; %Y-coordinate of Bottom-Left corner.
width = 0.15; %Width of object.
height = 0.075; %Height of object
deltaH = 0.3; %Horizontal Spacing between objects.
deltaV = -0.25; %Vertical Spacing between objects.
offset = 0.15;
rows = 3; %Number of rows.
cols = 3; %Number of columns.
k = 0; % Counter for number of uicontrols that populate grid pattern.
for i = 1:rows
for j = 1:cols
k = k + 1;
if k <= length(ui_texts)
x = xi + deltaH*(j-1);
y = yi + deltaV*(i-1);
xo = x + offset; %horizontally offset the editable field.
set(ui_texts{k},'Position',[x, y, width, height],'String',strings{k})
set(ui_edits{k},'Position',[xo, y, width, height],'String',defaults{k})
end
end
end
%Uicontrol for output object:
out = uicontrol('Parent',f,'Style','text','units','normalized',...
'position',[xo-deltaH,y+deltaV,width,height],'String','Val = ');
%Uicontrol for button execution:
exe = uicontrol('Parent',f,'Style','pushbutton','units','normalized',...
'position',[xo-2*deltaH,y+deltaV,width,height],'String','Calculate',...
'Callback',{#computations,ui_edits,out});
%Function executed by the "exe" uicontrol.
function computations(obj,~,ui_edits,out)
no_inputs = length(ui_edits);
summation = 0;
for i = 1:no_inputs
in = get(ui_edits{i},'String');
val = str2double(in);
summation = summation +val;
end
set(out,'String',['Val = ',num2str(summation)])
end
The above script produces:
Here's the gist:
The figure is a graphical object needed to contain the editable fields and text descriptions.
The fields are objects that enable user input (These are uicontrol objects).
The static texts establish to the user the correspondence between field and input (These are also uicontrol objects).
The button is an object that executes the callback function (also a uicontrol).
The callback function is a user-defined function that collects inputs from uicontrol objects and uses them to run code.
In this example, the "calculate" button simply sums up all the numeric values of the inputs. For your applications, you must modify the programmer-defined function at the end to suit your needs.
This kind of GUI lets users input information as strings. Said information must be converted from the string type to the double type. Other GUI objects allow for direct numerical inputs (such as sliders or buttons with underlying logical structure, ie. "if this button, then this value"). When working with editable fields, the programmer must be conscious that the inputs are strings until run through a function like str2double.
Other nuances with GUI's:
Every object that the programmer intends to be interactive must have an associated programmer-defined function.
In this case, the only interactive object is the button.
Personally, my biggest challenge when making MATLAB GUI's is dealing with the positioning of the UI controls. I have used a few for loops and cell arrays to generate the grid pattern for the texts and buttons. This is quality of life on my part, more elaborate GUI's may require more sophisticated coding.
MATLAB has a feature called "GUIDE" which helps automate the uicontrol generation. This is worth a try if the programatic method I have shared is too tedious.