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Simulink.connectBlocks

Connect blocks with signal lines

Since R2024b

Description

connection = Simulink.connectBlocks(src,dst) connects the source specified by src to the destination specified by dst with signal lines. The source and destination can be on different levels of the model hierarchy. When you programmatically connect blocks inside a Variant Subsystem block, the connection is only made in the active variant.

When the model is open, you can undo the connection by pressing Ctrl+Z (on macOS, press command+Z).

example

connection = Simulink.connectBlocks(src,dst,RoutingStyle=Value) makes the connection and arranges the signals according to the routing style you specify as a value for RoutingStyle.

example

Examples

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Open the model named ConnectBlocksWithoutSpecifyingPorts.slx by entering this command in the MATLAB® Command Window. The model contains an unconnected Sine Wave block named Input Signal and an unconnected Subsystem block named Plant. The subsystem contains an unconnected Scope block named Scope1.

model = "ConnectBlocksWithoutSpecifyingPorts";
open_system(model);

Connect the blocks named Input Signal and Scope1.

1. Specify the block paths of the source and destination blocks.

src = model+"/Input Signal";
dst = model+"/Plant/Scope1";

Alternatively, specify which blocks to connect using block handles.

srcPath = model+"/Input Signal";
dstPath = model+"/Plant/Scope1";

src = getSimulinkBlockHandle(srcPath);
dst = getSimulinkBlockHandle(dstPath);

2. Connect the blocks.

connection = Simulink.connectBlocks(src,dst);

Open the model named ConnectSpecificBlockPorts.slx by entering this command in the MATLAB® Command Window. The model includes a Bus Selector block named Bus Selector with two unconnected output ports and an unconnected Subsystem block named Plant. The Subsystem block named Plant contains an unconnected Scope block named Scope1 with three unconnected input ports.

model = "ConnectSpecificBlockPorts";
open_system(model);

If you connect the block named Bus Selector to the block named Scope1 using the Simulink.connectBlocks function and you only specify which blocks to connect, not which ports, the function connects the top output port of the block named Bus Selector to the top input port of the block named Scope1. To connect the two blocks at different ports, you must specify which ports you want to connect. In this example, you connect the bottom port of the block named Bus Selector to the bottom port of the block named Scope1.

1. Specify the port paths of the source and destination blocks.

src = model+"/Bus Selector/2";
dst = model+"/Plant/Scope1/3";

Alternatively, specify which ports to connect using port handles.

srcBlockPath = model+"/Bus Selector";
srcBlockPortHandles = get_param(srcBlockPath,"PortHandles");
src = srcBlockPortHandles.Outport(2);

dstBlockPath = model+"/Plant/Scope1";
dstBlockPortHandles = get_param(dstBlockPath,"PortHandles");
dst = dstBlockPortHandles.Inport(3);

2. Connect the blocks.

connection = Simulink.connectBlocks(src,dst);

Open the model named ConnectToControlInputPort.slx by entering this command in the MATLAB® Command Window. The model contains an unconnected Constant block and an unconnected Triggered Subsystem block.

model = "ConnectToControlInputPort";
open_system(model);

Connect the Constant block to the trigger port of the Triggered Subsystem block.

1. Specify the port paths of the source and destination blocks. Instead of ending with a port number, the path of the trigger port ends with the port name, Trigger.

src = model+"/Constant/1";
dst = model+"/Triggered Subsystem/Trigger";

Alternatively, specify which ports to connect using port handles.

srcBlockPath = model+"/Constant/1";
srcBlockPortHandles = get_param(srcBlockPath,"PortHandles");
src = srcBlockPortHandles.Outport(1);

blockPath = model+"/Triggered Subsystem";
blockPortHandles = get_param(blockPath,"PortHandles");
dst = blockPortHandles.Trigger;

2. Connect the blocks.

connection = Simulink.connectBlocks(src,dst);

Open the model named ConnectBlocksWithSpecificRoutingStyle.slx by entering this command in the MATLAB® Command Window. The model contains an unconnected Sine Wave block named Input Signal and an unconnected Subsystem block named Plant. The subsystem contains an unconnected Scope block named Scope1.

model = "ConnectBlocksWithSpecificRoutingStyle";
open_system(model);

Connect the blocks named Input Signal and Scope1 with smart automatic line routing turned off.

1. Specify the source and destination of the connection.

src = model+"/Input Signal";
dst = model+"/Plant/Scope1";

2. Connect the blocks. Set the value of RoutingStyle to Simulink.Connection.RoutingStyle.Direct.

connection = Simulink.connectBlocks(src,dst,...
    RoutingStyle=Simulink.Connection.RoutingStyle.Direct);

Open the model named GetNameHandleTypeofConnection.slx by entering this command in the MATLAB® Command Window. The model contains an unconnected Sine Wave block named Input Signal and an unconnected Subsystem block named Plant. The subsystem contains an unconnected Scope block named Scope1.

model = "GetNameHandleTypeofConnection";
open_system(model);

Connect the blocks named Input Signal and Scope1 using the Simulink.connectBlocks function.

src = "GetNameHandleTypeofConnection/Input Signal";
dst = "GetNameHandleTypeofConnection/Plant/Scope1";
connection = Simulink.connectBlocks(src,dst);

connection is a Simulink.connectBlocks object that contains an array of objects representing the model elements the Simulink.connectBlocks function created to connect the blocks.

Get the array of objects.

transits = connection.getTransits;

Get Type, Handle, and Path of One Model Element

To get the type or handle of a model element the Simulink.connectBlocks function created when making a connection, use dot notation. If the model element is a block, you can also get the block path using dot notation.

For example, to get the type of the model element corresponding to the object in the transits array with index 1, use this command.

type = transits(1).getType
type = 
  Type enumeration

    block

To get the handle, use this command.

handle = transits(1).getHandle
handle = 
282.0006

To get the block path, use this command.

path = transits(1).getName
path = 
'GetNameHandleTypeofConnection/Plant/Inport'

Get Types and Handles of All Model Elements

To get the types or handles of all model elements the Simulink.connectBlocks function created when making a connection, you can use the arrayfun function.

For example, to get the types, use these commands.

1. Create this function handle. The function input is represented by the variable t. The handle defines a function that gets the object stored in the transits array at index t, and then gets the model element type for that object.

hFunc1 = @(t) transits(t).getType;

2. Get the indices of all the transits array elements.

i = 1:numel(transits);

3. Pass the function handle and the indices to the arrayfun function.

types = arrayfun(hFunc1,i)
types = 
  1x3 Type enumeration array

    block    line     line 

The output is an enumeration array. To convert the enumeration array to a string array, use this command.

typesStr = string(types)
typesStr = 1x3 string
    "block"    "line"    "line"

To get the handles, use these commands.

hFunc3 = @(t) transits(t).getHandle;
i = 1:numel(transits);
handles = arrayfun(hFunc3,i,UniformOutput=false)
handles=1×3 cell array
    {[282.0006]}    {[285.0006]}    {[286.0011]}

Get Handles of Model Elements of Specific Type

You can also use the arrayfun function to get the handles of all model elements of a specific type created by the Simulink.connectBlocks function when making a connection.

For example, get the handles of all the signal lines represented by the objects in the transits array.

1. Create this function handle. The handle defines the same function as before, but also compares the model element type of the array object to "line". If the model element type is a line, the function outputs 1. Otherwise, the function outputs 0.

hFunc1 = @(t) transits(t).getType == "line";

2. Create a second function handle. This handle defines a function that gets the model element handles.

hFunc2 = @(t) transits(t).getHandle;

3. Get the indices of the transits array elements.

i = 1:numel(transits);

4. Pass the function handle named hFunc1 and the indices to the arrayfun function. The output is a logical array that indicates which model elements in the transits array are lines.

isTypeLine = arrayfun(hFunc1,i);

5. Get the handles of all model elements in the transits array by passing the function handle named hFunc2 to the arrayfun function.

h = arrayfun(hFunc2,i);

6. Get the handles of all signal lines by extracting the elements of the vector h that correspond to signal lines. If an element in the vector h corresponds to a signal line, the element of the vector isTypeLine with the same index has a value of 1.

h = h(isTypeLine == 1)
h = 1×2

  285.0006  286.0011

Get Block Paths

You can use a similar approach to get the block paths of all blocks created by the Simulink.connectBlocks function when making a connection.

1. Create this function handle. The function input is represented by the variable t. The handle defines a function that gets the object stored in the transits array at index t, and then gets the model element type for that object. The function then compares the model element type of the array object to "block". If the model element type is a block, the function outputs 1. Otherwise, the function outputs 0.

hFunc1 = @(t) transits(t).getType == "block";

2. Create a second function handle. This handle defines a function that gets the model element paths.

hFunc2 = @(t) transits(t).getName;

3. Get the indices of the transits array elements.

i = 1:numel(transits);

4. Pass the function handle named hFunc1 and the indices to the arrayfun function. The output is a logical array that indicates which model elements in the transits array are blocks.

isTypeBlock = arrayfun(hFunc1,i);

5. Get the block paths entries of all objects in the transits array by passing the function handle named hFunc2 to the arrayfun function. For objects corresponding to model elements that are not blocks, the entry is empty. To enable the output of a cell array that might contain both block paths and empty cell array elements, set UniformOutput to false.

h = arrayfun(hFunc2,i,UniformOutput=false)
h = 1x3 cell
    {'GetNameHandleTypeofConnection/Plant/Inport'}    {0x0 char}    {0x0 char}

6. Get the block paths of all blocks by extracting the elements of the vector h that correspond to signal lines. If an element in the vector h corresponds to a signal line, the element of the vector isTypeLine with the same index has a value of 1.

h = h(isTypeBlock == 1)
h = 1x1 cell array
    {'GetNameHandleTypeofConnection/Plant/Inport'}

Input Arguments

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Source of the signal line you want to create, specified as a block or output port using a handle or path. If the specified destination is a block, the specified source must be a block. If the specified destination is a port, the specified source must be a port. If you specify the source and destination as blocks, the function connects an unconnected port on the source block to an unconnected port on the destination block. If the source you specify (block or port) is fully connected, the function branches one of the signal lines connected to the source.

For information about how to get the handle or path of a block or port, see Get Handles and Paths. Specify block and port handles as scalars. Specify block and port paths as strings or character vectors. Typically, the port path is the block path followed by a slash and the port number, for example, "myModel/mysubSystem/myBlock/1". Using a port path to specify a subsystem port whose name has been changed from the default port number is not supported. Use a handle instead.

Example: "myModel/myBlock"

Example: "myModel/mysubSystem/myBlock/1"

Destination of the signal line you want to create, specified as a block or input port using a handle or path. If the specified source is a block, the specified destination must be a block. If the specified source is a port, the specified destination must be a port. If you specify the source and destination as blocks, the function connects an unconnected port on the source block to an unconnected port on the destination block. If the specified destination is a block, the block must have at least one unconnected port. If the specified destination is a port, the port must be unconnected.

For information about how to get the handle or path of a block or port, see Get Handles and Paths. Specify block and port handles as scalars. Specify block and port paths as strings or character vectors. Typically, the port path is the block path followed by a slash and the port number, for example, "myModel/mysubSystem/myBlock/1". Using a port path to specify a subsystem port whose name has been changed from the default port number is not supported. Use a handle instead.

If the destination is the control input port of a conditionally executed subsystem, the port path ends with the port name of the port instead of a port number, for example, "myModel/mysubSystem/myBlock/Trigger". The table lists the port names of the control input ports of conditionally executed subsystems.

Conditionally Executed SubsystemPort Name
TriggeredTrigger
EnabledEnable
Enabled and Triggered

Trigger

Enable

ResettableReset
If ActionIfaction
Switch Case ActionIfaction
Function-CallTrigger
Message PollingTrigger
Message TriggeredTrigger

The initial condition (IC) port of a While Iterator block has a port number, but the port number is not visible on the block. By default, the port number is 2.

Example: "myModel/myBlock"

Example: "myModel/mysubSystem/myBlock/1"

Example: "myModel/mysubSystem/myBlock/Trigger"

Style of signal line layout, specified as Simulink.Connection.RoutingStyle.Orthogonal or Simulink.Connection.RoutingStyle.Direct. By default, the Simulink.connectBlocks function uses smart automatic line routing. The signal lines the function creates are composed exclusively of orthogonal line segments and avoid overlapping other blocks and signal lines.

To turn smart automatic line routing off and create signal lines that connect blocks using the most direct route without avoiding overlap, specify the input argument RoutingStyle with the value Simulink.Connection.RoutingStyle.Direct.

To turn smart automatic line routing on, specify the input argument RoutingStyle with the value Simulink.Connection.RoutingStyle.Orthogonal.

Example: RoutingStyle=Simulink.Connection.RoutingStyle.Direct

Output Arguments

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Model elements function creates to connect blocks, returned as a Simulink.connectBlocks object that contains an array of objects corresponding to the model elements. The model elements can be signal lines and blocks. For example, when connecting a block at the top level of the model to a block in a subsystem, the function creates an Inport block in the subsystem.

To get the array of objects from the Simulink.connectBlocks object, use this command.

transit = connection.getTransit

Use these commands to get the type and handle of the model element corresponding to the object in the transit array with index i. If the model element is a block, you can also get the block path.

AttributeCommand
Type
t(i).getType
Handle
t(i).getHandle
Block path
t(i).getName

Version History

Introduced in R2024b