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Variant Inline Components

Implement structural variations in a single layer

With inline variant blocks, you can represent all design alternatives of a system in a single model. Each design choice is incorporated into the model as a variant choice in a single layer. Such models have a fixed common structure and a finite set of variable components that are activated or deactivated depending on the variant control. You can activate the components automatically or manually.

For example, suppose you want to simulate a model to control the speed of a car windshield wiper by using different rain sensors. You can provide the rain sensor models as inputs to a Variant Source block and then switch between the sensors based on the variant control you select. For more information, see Introduction to Variant Controls.

The code that you generate for the inline variant blocks can contain all the variant choices of a system. You can switch between the choices prior to code compile or at model startup as described in Activate Variant During Different Stages of Simulation and Code Generation Workflow. For information on generating code with inline variant blocks, see Represent Subsystem and Variant Models in Generated Code (Embedded Coder).

Blocks

Variant SourceRoute among multiple inputs using variants
Variant SinkRoute amongst multiple outputs using variants
Manual Variant SourceSwitch between multiple variant choices at input
Manual Variant SinkSwitch between multiple variant choices at output

Classes

Simulink.VariantControlCreate a variant control variable object (Since R2021a)
Simulink.ParameterStore, share, and configure parameter values
Simulink.VariantSpecify conditions that control variant selection
Simulink.VariantUtilsUtility methods to work with variant elements (Since R2023b)

Functions

enumerationClass enumeration members and names

Objects

structStructure array

Topics

Automatically Select Variant Source and Destination Signals

Manually Specify Variant Source and Destination Signal

Troubleshooting

Transform Model to Variant System (Simulink Check)

Use the Model Transformer tool to transform a model into a variant system.