I have coded an algorithm using MATLAB R2019 script and i want it to be called in an System verilog file i.e The output generated by the matlab script is actually to be fed into the testbench written using SV. I dont want to use HDL coder tool as the algorithm is quite complex and re-coding it in SV/ C is quite difficult. I use synopsys VCS tool for compilation and elaboration.
My question is :
1. Is it possible that a MATLAB script to be called in testbench written in SV ? I've heard about DPI, but not much idea on it, or worked on it.
2. Can the output of the MATLAB script stored in a separate file, let's say for example a text file and i can call that file in my SV test bench.?
To answer your questions in order, it is indeed possible.
You need to do the following:
In SV, import a C function (extern DPI-C) that you will call as required. Say we call this callMatlabFn
In C, define an extern function called callMatlabFn. This will then actually call your matlab fn. Have a look here for calling matlab in C : https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/matlab_external/call-matlab-functions-from-c-1.html
Note, you could return data via DPI but that may have a different meaning. It may be best to return any data in SV via reference in an output arg to the imported fn.
Finally, text File I/O in SV is implemented via the following system tasks:
$fopen (file_name) ;
$fclose (file_name) ;
$fdisplay (arguments) ;
$fwrite (arguments) ;
$fstrobe (arguments) ;
$fmonitor (arguments) ;
$readmemb ("file", memory_identifier [,begin_address[,end_address]]) ;
$readmemh ("file", memory_identifier [,begin_address[,end_address]]) ;
Related
I have never used Octave before this (I have used Matlab), but I installed GNU Octave because I wanted to use one of the repository/package that was written in GNU Octave. That repository has files with extension .csl, which are called within the .m files (main scripts) without their extension. For example, a file named foo.csl is called like a function foo() within the main script. However, when I run the main script (.m file that calls the .csl file as a function) it throws an error saying that the function foo() is undefined. The file foo.csl begins as following:
class foo
% Definition about the class foo
public x
public y
public z
I searched for .csl file extensions associated with GNU Octave, but I could not find anything helpful. I am using the latest version of GNU Octave on Windows 10.
I've had a look at your files.
The bad news is, as I've said in the comments, the .csl file is not valid matlab / octave code. This leads me to believe that one of the following might be happening:
The .csl file is "processed" elsewhere to produce an actual matlab / octave compatible class
The .csl file is simply a pseudo-code "specification", and the actual matlab / octave class is provided elsewhere, and you're supposed to 'load' it somehow.
This was part of an assignment, where whoever gave you this code was expected to convert the .csl file into appropriate matlab / octave code.
Whoever wrote this doesn't know matlab and this is just plain wrong code.
The good news is that this is very easy to translate into working code. Since your desired RecDomain "class" is essentially a simple class with exclusively public fields and no methods, it can be straightforwardly replaced by a simple struct. Meaning you can replace the entire RecDomain.csl file with the following:
%%% in file RecDomain.m
function Out = RecDomain (varargin)
%RecDomain() creates a domain with given parameters.
%RecDomain(d) creates a domain copy.
switch nargin
case 1 % a struct was given as input
Out = varargin{1};
case 3 % individual Dx, Dy, Dz arguments were given as input
Out.Dx = varargin{1};
Out.Dy = varargin{2};
Out.Dz = varargin{3};
otherwise
error('Wrong RecDomain constructor.\n');
endswitch
endfunction
and then your model1.m script will work as is.
PS. (obviously the above is oversimplified and has no input checking / assertions etc, but you get the picture).
If this was a contrived simple example and your actual .csl files are more complex, then you'll have to convert them into proper octave classes yourself based on that .csl "specification", which is beyond the scope of this answer. Octave provides some limited support for the new matlab object-oriented style using the classdef keyword if you'd like to try that, but for the most part octave implements object-orientation using matlab's old (pre-2008) style. See here for the respective official documentation entries: [matlab (new syntax)] / [octave (old syntax)]
Is there a way to call Matlab functions from outside, in particular by the Windows cmd (but also the Linux terminal, LUA-scripts, etc...), WITHOUT opening a new instance of Matlab each time?
for example in cmd:
matlab -sd myCurrentDirectory -r "function(parameters)" -nodesktop -nosplash -nojvm
opens a new instance of Matlab relatively fast and executes my function. Opening and closing of this reduced matlab prompt takes about 2 seconds (without computations) - hence for 4000 executions more than 2 hours. I'd like to avoid this, as the called function is always located in the same workspace. Can it be done in the same instance always?
I already did some research and found the possibility of the MATLAB COM Automation Server, but it seems quite complicated to me and I don't see the essential steps to make it work for my case. Any advices for that?
I'm not familiar with c/c++/c# but I'm thinking about the use of python (but just in the worst case).
Based on the not-working, but well thought, idea of #Ilya Kobelevskiy here the final workaround:
function pipeConnection(numIterations,inputFile)
for i=1:numIterations
while(exist('inputfile','file'))
load inputfile;
% read inputfile -> inputdata
output = myFunction(inputdata);
delete('inputfile');
end
% Write output to file
% Call external application to process output data
% generate new inputfile
end;
Another convenient solution would be to compile an executable of the Matlab function:
mcc -m myfunction
run this .exe-file using cmd:
cd myCurrentDirectory && myfunction.exe parameter1 parameter2
Be aware that the parameters are now passed as strings and the original .m-file needs to be adjusted considering that.
further remarks:
I guess Matlab still needs to be installed on the system, though
it is not necessary to run it.
I don't know how far this method is limited respectively the complexity of the
underlying function.
The speed-up compared to the initial apporach given in the question is
relatively small
Amongst the several methods exposed here, there is one workaround that should reduce the execution time of your multiple matlab calls. The idea is to run a custom function multiple times within on matlab session.
For example, myRand.m function is defined as
function r = myRand(a,b)
r = a + (b-a).*rand;
Within the matlab command window, we generate the single line command like this
S = [1:5; 1:5; 101:105];
cmd_str = sprintf('B(%d) = myRand(%d,%d);', S)
It generates the following command string B(1) = myRand(1,101);B(2) = myRand(2,102);B(3) = myRand(3,103);B(4) = myRand(4,104);B(5) = myRand(5,105); that is executed within a single matlab session with
matlab -nojvm -nodesktop -nosplash -r "copy_the_command_string_here";
One of the limitation is that you need to run your 4000 function calls in a row.
I like approach proposed by Magla, but given the constrains stated in your comment to it, it can be improved to still run single function in one matlab session.
Idea is to pipe your inputs and outputs. For inputs, you can check if certain input file exists, if it does, read input for your function from it, do work, write output to another file to signal script/function processing results that it matlab function is done and is waiting for the next input.
It is very straightforwad to implement using disk files, with some effort it is probably possible to do through memory disk (i.e., open input/output fiels in RAM).
function pipeConnection(numIterations,inputFile,outputFile)
for i=1:numIterations
while(!isfile(inputFile))
sleep(50);
end;
% Read inputs
output = YourFunction(x,y,z);
% Write output to file, go to next iteration
end;
return;
If number of iterations is unknown when you start, you can also encode exit conditions in input file rather than specifying number of iterations right away.
If you're starting up MATLAB from the command line with the -r option in the way you describe, then it will always start a new instance as you describe. I don't believe there's a way around this.
If you are calling MATLAB from a C/C++ application, MATLAB provides the MATLAB engine interface, which would connect to any running instance of MATLAB.
Otherwise the MATLAB Automation Server interface that you mention is the right way to go. If you're finding it complicated, I would suggest posting a separate question detailing what you've tried and what difficulties you're having.
For completeness, I'll mention that MATLAB also has an undocumented interface that can be called directly from Java - however, as it's undocumented it's very difficult to get right, and is subject to change across versions so you shouldn't rely on it.
Edit: As of R2014b, MATLAB makes available the MATLAB Engine for Python, via which you can automate MATLAB from a Python script. And as of R2016b, there is also the MATLAB Engine for Java. If anyone was previously considering the undocumented Java techniques mentioned above, this would now be the way to go.
I have a rather bulky program that I've been running as a script from the MATLAB command line. I decided to clean it up a bit with some nested functions (I need to keep everything in one file), but in order for that to work it required me to also make the program itself a function. As a result, the program no longer runs in the base workspace like it did when it was a script. This means I no longer have access to the dozens of useful variables that used to remain after the program runs, which are important for extra calculations and information about the run.
The suggested workarounds I can find are to use assignin, evalin, define the variables as global, or set the output in the definition of the now function-ized program. None of these solutions appeal to me, however, and I would really like to find a way to force the workspace itself to base. Does any such workaround exist? Or is there any other way to do this that doesn't require me to manually define or label each specific variable I want to get out of the function?
Functions should define clearly input and output variables. Organizing the code differently will be much more difficult to understand and to modify later on. In the end, it will most likely cost you more time to work with an unorthodox style than investing in some restructuring.
If you have a huge number of output variables, I would suggest organizing them in structure arrays, which might be easy to handle as output variables.
The only untidy workaround I can imagine would use whos, assignin and eval:
function your_function()
x = 'hello' ;
y = 'world' ;
variables = whos ;
for k=1:length(variables)
assignin('base',variables(k).name,eval(variables(k).name))
end
end
But I doubt that this will help with the aim to clean up your program. As mentioned above I suggest ordering things manually in structures:
function out = your_function()
x = 'hello' ;
y = 'world' ;
out.x = x ;
out.y = y ;
end
If the function you would like to define are simple and have a single output, one option is to use anonymous functions.
Another option is to store all the variable you would like to use afterwards in a struct and have your big function return this struct as an output.
function AllVariables = GlobalFunction(varargin);
% bunch of stuff
AllVariables= struct('Variable1', Variable1, 'Variable2', Variable2, …);
end
Is there a way to call Matlab functions from outside, in particular by the Windows cmd (but also the Linux terminal, LUA-scripts, etc...), WITHOUT opening a new instance of Matlab each time?
for example in cmd:
matlab -sd myCurrentDirectory -r "function(parameters)" -nodesktop -nosplash -nojvm
opens a new instance of Matlab relatively fast and executes my function. Opening and closing of this reduced matlab prompt takes about 2 seconds (without computations) - hence for 4000 executions more than 2 hours. I'd like to avoid this, as the called function is always located in the same workspace. Can it be done in the same instance always?
I already did some research and found the possibility of the MATLAB COM Automation Server, but it seems quite complicated to me and I don't see the essential steps to make it work for my case. Any advices for that?
I'm not familiar with c/c++/c# but I'm thinking about the use of python (but just in the worst case).
Based on the not-working, but well thought, idea of #Ilya Kobelevskiy here the final workaround:
function pipeConnection(numIterations,inputFile)
for i=1:numIterations
while(exist('inputfile','file'))
load inputfile;
% read inputfile -> inputdata
output = myFunction(inputdata);
delete('inputfile');
end
% Write output to file
% Call external application to process output data
% generate new inputfile
end;
Another convenient solution would be to compile an executable of the Matlab function:
mcc -m myfunction
run this .exe-file using cmd:
cd myCurrentDirectory && myfunction.exe parameter1 parameter2
Be aware that the parameters are now passed as strings and the original .m-file needs to be adjusted considering that.
further remarks:
I guess Matlab still needs to be installed on the system, though
it is not necessary to run it.
I don't know how far this method is limited respectively the complexity of the
underlying function.
The speed-up compared to the initial apporach given in the question is
relatively small
Amongst the several methods exposed here, there is one workaround that should reduce the execution time of your multiple matlab calls. The idea is to run a custom function multiple times within on matlab session.
For example, myRand.m function is defined as
function r = myRand(a,b)
r = a + (b-a).*rand;
Within the matlab command window, we generate the single line command like this
S = [1:5; 1:5; 101:105];
cmd_str = sprintf('B(%d) = myRand(%d,%d);', S)
It generates the following command string B(1) = myRand(1,101);B(2) = myRand(2,102);B(3) = myRand(3,103);B(4) = myRand(4,104);B(5) = myRand(5,105); that is executed within a single matlab session with
matlab -nojvm -nodesktop -nosplash -r "copy_the_command_string_here";
One of the limitation is that you need to run your 4000 function calls in a row.
I like approach proposed by Magla, but given the constrains stated in your comment to it, it can be improved to still run single function in one matlab session.
Idea is to pipe your inputs and outputs. For inputs, you can check if certain input file exists, if it does, read input for your function from it, do work, write output to another file to signal script/function processing results that it matlab function is done and is waiting for the next input.
It is very straightforwad to implement using disk files, with some effort it is probably possible to do through memory disk (i.e., open input/output fiels in RAM).
function pipeConnection(numIterations,inputFile,outputFile)
for i=1:numIterations
while(!isfile(inputFile))
sleep(50);
end;
% Read inputs
output = YourFunction(x,y,z);
% Write output to file, go to next iteration
end;
return;
If number of iterations is unknown when you start, you can also encode exit conditions in input file rather than specifying number of iterations right away.
If you're starting up MATLAB from the command line with the -r option in the way you describe, then it will always start a new instance as you describe. I don't believe there's a way around this.
If you are calling MATLAB from a C/C++ application, MATLAB provides the MATLAB engine interface, which would connect to any running instance of MATLAB.
Otherwise the MATLAB Automation Server interface that you mention is the right way to go. If you're finding it complicated, I would suggest posting a separate question detailing what you've tried and what difficulties you're having.
For completeness, I'll mention that MATLAB also has an undocumented interface that can be called directly from Java - however, as it's undocumented it's very difficult to get right, and is subject to change across versions so you shouldn't rely on it.
Edit: As of R2014b, MATLAB makes available the MATLAB Engine for Python, via which you can automate MATLAB from a Python script. And as of R2016b, there is also the MATLAB Engine for Java. If anyone was previously considering the undocumented Java techniques mentioned above, this would now be the way to go.
i have a problem to using a dll fortran in matlab.
i couldn't use a dll ,that is built by fortran, in matlab. i use "loadlibrary" instruction in matlab but the error is related to header files.
what is header files??
please give me more information to load a dll fortran in matlab and call it.
Rather than try to use a dll file directly I suggest you re-build it using Matlab's MEX functionality. Yes, a mex file is a dll and you can build dlls outside Matlab and use them successfully, it's a lot easier, for a beginner such as I guess you to be, to use MEX. One way in which it is easier is that, if you build a mex file, the system won't ask you for a header file which is, as you know, a rather foreign concept to a Fortran programmer. Another way in which MEX will make your life easier is that you can then call the function exposed by the dll directly from Matlab's command line, without loadlibrary.
Study the Matlab documentation on MEX files, pay particular attention to how to integrate Fortran this way.
Without seeing your header file and the command line you're using in MATLAB, it's hard to help you too much here. You might reference the documentation in MATLAB which request that you pass two arguments to loadlibrary, the second being the header file with function signatures. I am guessing you are not providing this second argument.
You need to provide a header file that defines each of the named functions in the Fortran DLL that you'll be calling. For instance, if your DLL contains a function named sum that sums two double precision variables, like:
function sum(a,b) result(sum)
real(kind=2), intent(in) :: a, b
real(kind=2) :: sum
sum = a + b
end function
Then your header will need to contain something like:
double sum(double*a, double*b);
But don't forget to decorate this with the name mangling specific to your Fortran compiler. For instance, if sum was in a module named foo, and you compiled with gfortran, then you will need something like:
double __foo_MOD_sum(double*a, double*b);
There are a lot of other cases, but that's the gist of it.