MATLAB Central Newsreader - M-files, GUI or SIMULINK?

M-files, GUI or SIMULINK?

Jane — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:05:33 -0500

If you were developing a prototype set of algorithms for essentially a signal processing process, where you want to easily alter settings and try different sequencing combinations and different combinations of processing techniques etc. Would you control this model though a series of m-files, write a GUI or use Simulink?

In the past I have always used the first two methods and found them to work fine for me. But then they were only developed fo me to use!

What I need to develop now will be used as an industrial tool, to be used by different people so needs to be straightforward and useful to use.

I've also never used Simulink and am wondering if it's worth the time to learn.

Thanks in advance for your advice

Re: M-files, GUI or SIMULINK?

Jane — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:27:02 -0500

Doesn't anyone have an opinion?

Re: M-files, GUI or SIMULINK?

Matt Fig — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:41:02 -0500

I have written many GUIs that are primarily used by others. What is the problem with that, as long as the GUIs are well written?

Re: M-files, GUI or SIMULINK?

Jane — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:05:21 -0500

"Matt Fig" <spamanon@yahoo.com> wrote in message <hcppve$m5$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> I have written many GUIs that are primarily used by others. What is the problem with that, as long as the GUIs are well written?

Nothing at all. GUI's are very good tools. I'm in the process of developing one now for the company.

When I mentioned code being developed for me to use I was referring to the m-files I have written to control a sequence of about 15 functions where I was altering their parameters and the sequence they operated in to find the optimal combination. It was a mess!

I guess what I was primarily looking for was information on whether SIMULINK offers a more dynamic and useful system for protyping than creating a GUI offers.

I have not used simulink before and was wondering if the benifits were worth investing the time to learn how to use it.

Re: M-files, GUI or SIMULINK?

Guy Rouleau — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:40:19 -0500

"Jane " <j.l.terry@hotmail.co.uk> wrote in message <hcprd1$1fp$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> "Matt Fig" <spamanon@yahoo.com> wrote in message <hcppve$m5$1@fred.mathworks.com>...
> > I have written many GUIs that are primarily used by others. What is the problem with that, as long as the GUIs are well written?
>
> Nothing at all. GUI's are very good tools. I'm in the process of developing one now for the company.
>
> When I mentioned code being developed for me to use I was referring to the m-files I have written to control a sequence of about 15 functions where I was altering their parameters and the sequence they operated in to find the optimal combination. It was a mess!
>
> I guess what I was primarily looking for was information on whether SIMULINK offers a more dynamic and useful system for protyping than creating a GUI offers.
>
> I have not used simulink before and was wondering if the benifits were worth investing the time to learn how to use it.

Simulink is The MathWorks tool for Model-Based Design. It has many features to help managing a project going form an idea, the algorithm design in simulation and finally to generating C code that will run in real time on embedded processor.

So it depends on what you really need. Simulink is made to simulate systems response over time using an ODE solver. You give input signals and conditions, set parameters, you simulate and see how it behaves.

Personally I always understand better an algorithm when it is implemented graphically in Simulink (using subsystems in a logical way that fits with the real physical system to be simulated) than in code.