Learn more about xPC Target

Product Overview

The xPC Target™ product is a solution for prototyping, testing, and deploying real-time systems using standard PC hardware. It is an environment that uses a target PC, separate from a host PC, for running real-time applications. The xPC Target software environment includes many features to help you prototype, test, and deploy real-time systems.

In this environment you use your desktop computer as a host PC with MATLAB^®, Simulink^®, and Stateflow^® (optional) software, to create a model using Simulink blocks and Stateflow charts. After creating your model, you can run simulations in nonreal time.

xPC Target software lets you add I/O blocks to your model and then use the host PC with Real-Time Workshop^®, Real-Time Workshop^® Embedded Coder™ (optional), Stateflow^® Coder™ (optional) software, and a C/C++ compiler to create executable code. The executable code is downloaded from the host PC to the target PC running the xPC Target real-time kernel. After downloading the executable code, you can run and test your target application in real time.

• Hardware requirements — The xPC Target software requires a host PC, target PC, and, for I/O, the target PC must also have I/O boards supported by the xPC Target product. However, the target PC can be a desktop PC, industrial PC, PC/104, PC/104+, or CompactPCI computer.

• Software requirements — The xPC Target software requires either a Microsoft^® Visual C/C++ compiler (Version 6.0, 7.1, 8.0, or 9.0) or an Open Watcom C/C++ compiler (Version 1.7). In addition, the xPC Target software requires MATLAB, Simulink, and Real-Time Workshop software.

• xPC Target Embedded Option™ requirements — The xPC Target Embedded Option product is separate from the xPC Target product. It requires an additional license from The MathWorks. With this additional license, you can deploy an unlimited number of real-time applications for stand-alone operation. This option allows you to

  • Create stand-alone applications for the target PC, independent from the host PC, that can boot from a floppy drive or an alternate device.

  • Deploy stand-alone GUI applications running on the host PC to control, change parameters, and acquire signal data from a target application. This feature uses the xPC Target API with any programming environment, or the xPC Target COM API with any programming environment, such as Microsoft^® Visual Basic^®, that can use COM objects. Without the xPC Target Embedded Option product, you can create, but not deploy, stand-alone GUI applications running on a host PC that does not contain your licensed copy of the xPC Target software, to control, change parameters, and acquire signal data from a target application.

• Documentation and help — The xPC Target software ships with the xPC Target Getting Started Guide. This guide and the remaining documentation are available online through the MATLAB Help browser window, or as PDF files that you can view online or print.

For additional information on using the xPC Target product, see the following MathWorks Web site resources:

• MATLAB Central File Exchange for xPC Target Product.

• MathWorks Support xPC Target Web site (http://www.mathworks.com/support/product/XP). The xPC Target documentation is also available from this site.

Introduction

Expected Background

© 1984-2009- The MathWorks, Inc.    -   Site Help   -   Patents   -   Trademarks   -   Privacy Policy   -   Preventing Piracy   -   RSS