Release 11 Enhancements (Release 11 New Features)

Release 11 New Features

New Products

New MATLAB and Simulink Report Generators

The Report Generator is a software package that can take any information from your MATLAB workspace and export it to a document in the form of a report. The reports you create with the Report Generator can include figures, data, variables, and functions from your models or M-files, as well as snapshots of all system graphics or figures.

Two Report Generator Products

There are two Report Generator products: the MATLAB Report Generator and the Simulink Report Generator. If you want to create reports for MATLAB M-files, you need the MATLAB Report Generator. If you want to create reports for Simulink or Stateflow models, you need both the MATLAB Report Generator and the Simulink Report Generator, which is built on top of the MATLAB Report Generator.

Both the MATLAB Report Generator and the Simulink Report Generator are documented in the Report Generator User's Guide.

Multiple Report Formats

One of the key features of the Report Generator is that you can create reports in multiple documentation formats, such as:

RTF
HTML
XML
SGML

Creating Reports with the Report Generator

A report is a formatted document that contains the information specified by a setup file. A setup file specifies which components will be in the report, component attributes, and component relationships.

A component is a self-contained, modular element that controls the report generation process and inserts elements into a report. Components control such aspects of your report as formatting, how Handle Graphics objects are handled, the logical flow for processing the report, etc. You can use the components provided with the Report Generator, or you can create your own components with the Component Creation Wizard.

You can create reports using the setup files that are provided with the Report Generator, or you can create customized reports with the Setup File Editor. The Setup File Editor is the primary graphical user interface (GUI) for the Report Generator; you can view, modify, or create setup files with it.

Real-Time Windows Target

The Real-Time Windows Target allows you to run C code generated by Real-Time Workshop on a PC in real time. In this environment, your PC is the host for MATLAB, Simulink, and the Real-Time Workshop. Once C code is generated and compiled, your same PC, running Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98 is then used as a target for running the generated code. Typical applications for the Real-Time Windows Target include real-time control, signal processing, and hardware-in-the-loop simulation.

Note
The Real-Time Windows Target requires Real-Time Workshop 3.0 and the Watcom 11.0 C/C++ compiler.

Features

The Real-Time Windows Target has many useful features:

The generated code runs fast (in real time, at ring zero) under Microsoft Windows 95 or Windows 98 operating systems using standard yet cost-effective I/O boards.
When running your models in real time, Real-Time Windows Target captures a sample of data from one or more input channels, uses the data as inputs to your block diagram model, immediately processes the data, and sends it back to the outside world via an output channel on your I/O board.
The Real-Time Windows Target uses the unique real-time capabilities of a special kernel for each of the supported Windows operating systems, combined with the speed of compiled C code.
The Real-Time Windows Target provides a custom Simulink block library and more than 60 ready-to-use hardware I/O drivers.
Signals may be captured and graphed in Simulink Scope blocks by using Simulink's external mode, which enables you to observe the behavior of your real-time system.
Simulink's external mode also allows you to alter parameters on-the-fly by simply editing the block diagram while running Simulink in external mode. New parameter values are automatically transferred to the compiled version of your block diagram during real-time execution.

Supported Boards

The Real-Time Windows Target has support for over 60 boards from these manufacturers:

Advantech
Analog Devices
Axiom
Computer Boards
Data Translation
Humusoft
Keithley-Metrabyte
National Instruments
Scientific Solutions

Refer to the Real-Time Windows Target User's Guide for more specific information about which boards are supported.

Database Toolbox

Note The Database Toolbox was made available via FTP prior to Release 11. However, the Database Toolbox is appearing on a MATLAB CD-ROM for the first time with Release 11.

The Database Toolbox enables you to move data (both importing and exporting) between MATLAB and popular relational databases. With the Database Toolbox, you can bring data from an existing database into MATLAB, use any of MATLAB's computational and analytic tools, and store the results back in the database or in another database. The Database Toolbox imports and exports data directly to and from databases (without your needing to use intermediary files).

For example, a financial analyst working on a mutual fund could import a company's financial data into MATLAB, run selected analyses, and store the results for future tracking. The analyst could then export the saved results to a database.

The Database Toolbox connects MATLAB to a database using MATLAB commands. Data is retrieved from the database as a string, parsed into the correct data types, and stored in a MATLAB cell array. At that point, you can use MATLAB's extensive set of tools to work with the data.

The Database Toolbox has the following features:

Data types are automatically preserved in MATLAB - No data massaging or manipulation is required. The data is stored in MATLAB cell arrays, which support mixed data types.
Different databases can be used in a single session - For example, you can import data from one database, perform calculations, and export the modified or unmodified data to another database. Multiple databases can be open during a session.
You can dynamically import data from within MATLAB - Modify your SQL queries with MATLAB statements to retrieve the data you need.
Single environment promotes for faster data analysis - Access both database data and MATLAB functions at the MATLAB command prompt.
Database connections remain open until explicitly closed - Once the connection to a database has been established, it remains open during the entire MATLAB session until you explicitly close it. This improves database access and reduces the number of commands necessary to import/export data.
Multiple cursors are supported for a single database connection - Once a connection has been established with a database, the connection can support the use of multiple cursors. You can execute several queries on the same connection.
Retrieval of large data sets or partial data sets is supported - You can retrieve large data sets from a database in a single fetch or in discrete amounts using multiple fetches.

MATLAB Web Server

Note The MATLAB Web Server was made available via FTP prior to Release 11. However, the MATLAB Server is appearing on a MATLAB CD-ROM for the first time with Release 11.

The MATLAB Web Server enables you to create MATLAB applications that use the capabilities of the World Wide Web to send data to MATLAB for computation and to display the results in a Web browser.

In the simplest configuration, a Web browser runs on your client workstation while MATLAB, the MATLAB Web Server, and the Web server daemon run on another machine. In a more complex network, the Web server daemon can run on a machine apart from the others.

The MATLAB Web Server depends upon TCP/IP networking for transmission of data between the client system and MATLAB.

MATLAB Web Server applications are a combination of M-files, HTML, and graphics. Knowledge of MATLAB programming and basic HTML are the only requirements.

The process of creating a MATLAB Web Server application involves the creation of:

An HTML input document for data submission to MATLAB
An HTML output document for display of MATLAB's computations
A MATLAB M-file to process input data and compute results
A test file to validate code before distributing the application over the Web

The MATLAB Web Server is packaged with templates to simplify the process described above. Each template provides actual code that you need to incorporate into your application plus instructions on how to modify the template where necessary.

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