Launching UNIX Terminal using a Matlab script?

Is it possible to launch the OS X Terminal and execute commands using a matlab script? I'd like to control a program called Xfoil, which has a DOS-type text console window that I can access through the terminal. I'd like to pass commands to the program through a matlab script and return a final answer. Xfoil is a text based program and its results would be text as well

Pseudo code for what I'm trying to do would look something like this: launch(Terminal)

   execute : /Applications/Xfoil.app/Contents/Resources/xfoil -nodesktop
   execute : naca 2412
   execute : oper
   execute : Re 500000
   execute : cl 0
   return the result to Matlab

Any ideas how I can do this, or if it's even possible?

Answer 1

[Walter Roberson]

Java Robot Class.

You might also be able to redirect input and output.

fid = fopen('myscript.txt', 'w');
fprintf(fid, 'naca 2412\noper\nRe 500000\ncl 0\n');
fclose(fid);
system('/Applications/Xfoil.app/Contents/Resources/xfoil -nodesktop < myscript.txt > scriptout.txt');

then deal with scriptout.txt

[Elio Xhemalaj]

I'm trying to do the latter method of redirecting inputs and outputs, but I'm having a problem with the actual execution in the system line. I'm receiving this error:

At line 135 of file ../src/userio.f
Fortran runtime error: End of file