Write Applications for macOS

Objective-C/C++ Applications for Apple Cocoa API

Apple Xcode, implemented in the Objective-C language, is used to develop applications using the Cocoa framework, the native object-oriented API for the macOS operating system.

This article details how to create a graphical MATLAB^® application with Objective C and Cocoa, and then deploy it using MATLAB Compiler SDK™.

Where Is the Example Code?

You can find example Apple Xcode, header, and project files in matlabroot/extern/examples/compilersdk/c_cpp/triangle/xcode.

Preparing Your Apple Xcode Development Environment

To run this example, you should have prior experience with the Apple Xcode development environment and the Cocoa framework.

The example in this article is ready to build and run. However, before you build and run your own applications, you must do the following (as has been done in our example code):

Build the shared library with MATLAB Compiler SDK using either Library Compiler, compiler.build.cppSharedLibrary, or mcc.
Compile application code against the library’s header file and link the application against the component library and libmwmclmcrrt.
In your Apple Xcode project:
- Specify mcc in the project target (Build Component Library in the example code).
- Specify target settings in HEADER_SEARCH_PATHS.
  - Specify directories containing the library header.
  - Specify the path matlabroot/extern/include.
  - Define MWINSTALL_ROOT, which establishes the install route using a relative path.
- Set LIBRARY_SEARCH_PATHS to any directories containing the shared library, as well as to the path matlabroot/runtime/maci64 for Intel^® processor-based macOS, or matlabroot/runtime/maca64 for Apple silicon-based macOS.

Build and Run the Sierpinski Application

In this example, deploy the graphical Sierpinski function sierpinski.m, located at matlabroot/extern/examples/compilersdk/c_cpp/triangle.

function [x, y] = sierpinski(iterations, draw)
% SIERPINSKI Calculate (optionally draw) the points 
%  in Sierpinski's triangle

% Copyright 2004 The MathWorks, Inc.

    % Three points defining a nice wide triangle
    points = [0.5 0.9 ; 0.1 0.1 ; 0.9 0.1];

    % Select an initial point
    current = rand(1, 2);

    % Create a figure window
    if (draw == true)
        f = figure;
        hold on;
    end

    % Pre-allocate space for the results, to improve performance
    x = zeros(1,iterations);
    y = zeros(1,iterations);

    % Iterate
    for i = 1:iterations

        % Select point at random
        index = floor(rand * 3) + 1;

        % Calculate midpoint between current point and random point
        current(1) = (current(1) + points(index, 1)) / 2;
        current(2) = (current(2) + points(index, 2)) / 2;

        % Plot that point
        if draw, line(current(1),current(2));, end
	x(i) = current(1);
        y(i) = current(2);

    end

    if (draw)
        drawnow;
    end

Using the Mac Finder, locate the Apple Xcode project (matlabroot/extern/examples/compilersdk/c_cpp/triangle/xcode). Copy files to a working directory to run this example, if needed.
Open sierpinski.xcodeproj. The development environment starts.
In the Groups and Files pane, select Targets.
Click Build and Run. The make file runs that launches MATLAB Compiler™ (mcc).

Running the Sierpinski Application

Run the Sierpinski application from the build output directory. The following GUI appears:

MATLAB Sierpinski Function Implemented in the Mac Cocoa Environment

In the Iterations field, enter an integer such as 10000:
Click Draw Triangle. The following figure appears: