Generate MWArray .NET Assembly and Build .NET Application

Supported platform: Windows®

This example shows how to create a .NET assembly from a MATLAB® function and integrate the generated assembly into a .NET application.

This example uses the legacy MWArray API. To create a .NET assembly using the more modern MATLAB Data API, see Deploy MATLAB Function to .NET Application Using MATLAB Data API for .NET. To select the right deployment option for your project, see Choose .NET Deployment Option.

Prerequisites

Create Function in MATLAB

In MATLAB, examine the MATLAB code that you want to package. For this example, create a MATLAB script named makesquare.m.

function y = makesquare(x)
y = magic(x);

At the MATLAB command prompt, enter makesquare(5).

The output is a 5-by-5 matrix.

    17    24     1     8    15
    23     5     7    14    16
     4     6    13    20    22
    10    12    19    21     3
    11    18    25     2     9

Create .NET Assembly Using compiler.build.dotNETAssembly

Build a .NET assembly using a programmatic approach. Alternatively, if you want to create a .NET assembly using a graphical interface, see Package MATLAB Function Using .NET Assembly Compiler App with MWArray API.

  1. If you have not already created the file makesquare.m, copy the example file located in matlabroot\toolbox\dotnetbuilder\Examples\VS15\NET\MagicSquareExample\MagicSquareComp.

    copyfile(fullfile(matlabroot,'toolbox','dotnetbuilder','Examples',...
'VS15','NET','MagicSquareExample','MagicSquareComp','makesquare.m'));

  2. Save the following code in a sample file named makesquareSample1.m: 

    x = 5;
y = makesquare(x);

  3. Build the .NET assembly using the compiler.build.dotNETAssembly function. Use name-value arguments to specify the assembly name, class name, and sample file.

    buildResults = compiler.build.dotNETAssembly('makesquare.m',...
'AssemblyName','MagicSquareComp',...
'ClassName','MagicSquareClass',...
'SampleGenerationFiles','makesquareSample1.m');

    You can specify additional options in the compiler.build command by using name-value arguments. For details, see compiler.build.dotNETAssembly.

    The compiler.build.Results object buildResults contains information on the build type, generated files, included support packages, and build options.

    The build function generates files within a folder named MagicSquareCompdotNETAssembly in your current working directory. For information on the files generated, see Files Generated After Packaging MATLAB Functions.

    Note

    The generated assembly does not include MATLAB Runtime or an installer. To create an installer using the buildResults object, see compiler.package.installer.

Integrate .NET Assembly Into .NET Application

After creating your .NET assembly, you can integrate it into any .NET application. This example uses the sample C# application code generated during packaging. You can use this sample .NET application code as a guide to write your own application.

Note

To call the assembly using a more advanced application that takes an input argument, use the C# or Visual Basic® application MagicSquareApp located in the corresponding subfolder of: 

matlabroot\toolbox\dotnetbuilder\Examples\VS15\NET\MagicSquareExample\

  1. Open Microsoft Visual Studio and create a C# Console App (.NET Framework) called MainApp.

  2. Remove any source code files that were created within your project, if necessary.

  3. Add the sample C# application code makesquareSample1.cs that was generated in the samples folder to the project.

    The program listing is shown below.

    using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Text;
using MathWorks.MATLAB.NET.Arrays;
using MathWorks.MATLAB.NET.Utility;
using MagicSquareComp;

/// <summary>
/// Sample driver code that integrates a compiled MATLAB function
/// generated by MATLAB Compiler SDK
///
/// Refer to the MATLAB Compiler SDK documentation for more
/// information.
/// </summary>
class makesquareSample1 {
    static MagicSquareClass MagicSquareClassInstance;

    static void Setup() {
        MagicSquareClassInstance = new MagicSquareClass();
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Example of using the makesquare function.
    /// </summary>
    public static void makesquareSample() {
        double xInData = 5.0;
        MWNumericArray yOut = null;
        Object[] results = null;
        try {
            MWNumericArray xIn = new MWNumericArray(xInData);
            results = MagicSquareClassInstance.makesquare(1, xIn);
            if (results[0] is MWNumericArray) {
                yOut = (MWNumericArray) results[0];
            }
            Console.WriteLine(yOut);
        } catch (Exception e) {
            Console.WriteLine(e);
        }
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// The main entry point for the application.
    /// </summary>
    static void Main(string[] args) {
        try {
            Setup();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            Console.WriteLine(e);
            Environment.Exit(1);
        }
        try {
            makesquareSample();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            Console.WriteLine(e);
            Environment.Exit(1);
        }
    }
}

    The program does the following:

    • Uses a try-catch block to handle exceptions

    • Creates an MWNumericArray array to store the input data

    • Instantiates the MagicSquareClass object results

    • Calls the makesquare method, where the first parameter specifies the number of output arguments and the following parameters are passed to the function in order as input arguments

    • Writes the function output to the console

  4. In Visual Studio, add a reference to your assembly file MagicSquareComp.dll located in the folder where you generated or installed the assembly.

  5. Add a reference to the MWArray API.

    If MATLAB is installed on your systemmatlabroot\toolbox\dotnetbuilder\bin\win64\<framework_version>\MWArray.dll
    If MATLAB Runtime is installed on your system<MATLAB_RUNTIME_INSTALL_DIR>\toolbox\dotnetbuilder\bin\win64\<framework_version>\MWArray.dll

  6. Go to Build, then Configuration Manager, and change the platform from Any CPU to x64.

  7. After you finish adding your code and references, build the application with Visual Studio.

    The build process generates an executable named makesquareSample1.exe.

  8. Run the application from Visual Studio, in a command window, or by double-clicking the generated executable.

    The application returns the same output as the sample MATLAB code.

        17    24     1     8    15
    23     5     7    14    16
     4     6    13    20    22
    10    12    19    21     3
    11    18    25     2     9

See Also

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