Preparing MATLAB Algorithms for Code Generation

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Debugging Strategies Detecting Errors at Design Time Detecting Errors at Compile Time

Debugging Strategies

To prepare your algorithms for code generation, MathWorks recommends that you choose a debugging strategy for detecting and correcting violations in your MATLAB applications, especially if they consist of a large number of MATLAB files that call each other's functions. Here are two best practices:

Debugging Strategy	What to Do	Pros	Cons
Bottom-up verification	Verify that your lowest-level (leaf) functions are suitable for code generation. Work your way up the function hierarchy incrementally to compile and verify each function, ending with the top-level function.	Efficient Safe Easy to isolate syntax violations	Requires application tests that work from the bottom up
Top-down verification	Declare all functions called by the top-level function to be extrinsic so fiaccel does not compile them. Verify that your top-level function is suitable for code generation. Work downward in the function hierarchy to: a. Remove extrinsic declarations one by one b. Compile and verify each function, ending with the leaf functions.	Lets you retain your top-level tests	Introduces extraneous code that you must remove after code verification, including: Extrinsic declarations Additional assignment statements as necessary to convert opaque values returned by extrinsic functions to nonopaque values.

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Detecting Errors at Design Time

To detect potential issues for MEX generation as you write your MATLAB algorithm, add the %#codegen directive to the code that you want fiaccel to compile. Adding this directive indicates that you intend to generate code from the algorithm and turns on detailed diagnostics during MATLAB code analysis (see Check Code for Errors and Warnings in the MATLAB Desktop Tools and Development Environment documentation).

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Detecting Errors at Compile Time

Before you can successfully generate code from a MATLAB algorithm, you must verify that the algorithm does not contain syntax and semantics violations that would cause compile-time errors, as described in Preparing MATLAB Algorithms for Code Generation.

fiaccel checks for all potential syntax violations at compile time. When fiaccel detects errors or warnings, it automatically produces a code generation report that describes the issues and provides links to the offending code. See Working with Fixed-Point Code Generation Reports.

If your MATLAB code calls functions on the MATLAB path, fiaccel attempts to compile these functions unless you declare them to be extrinsic.

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Setting Up File Infrastructure and Paths

Setting MEX Compilation Options

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