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compiler.build.standaloneApplication

Create standalone application for deployment outside MATLAB

Since R2020b

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Syntax

compiler.build.standaloneApplication(AppFile)
compiler.build.standaloneApplication(AppFile,Name,Value)
compiler.build.standaloneApplication(opts)
results = compiler.build.standaloneApplication(___)

Description

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compiler.build.standaloneApplication(AppFile) creates a deployable standalone application using a MATLAB® function, class, or app specified by AppFile. The executable type is determined by your operating system. The generated executable does not include MATLAB Runtime or an installer.

example

compiler.build.standaloneApplication(AppFile,Name,Value) creates a standalone application with additional options specified using one or more name-value arguments. Options include the executable name, help text, and icon image.

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compiler.build.standaloneApplication(opts) creates a standalone application with additional options specified using a compiler.build.StandaloneApplicationOptions object opts. You cannot specify any other options using name-value arguments.

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results = compiler.build.standaloneApplication(___) returns build information as a compiler.build.Results object using any of the argument combinations in previous syntaxes. The build information consists of the build type, paths to the compiled files, and build options.

Examples

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Create a standalone application using a function file that generates a magic square.

In MATLAB, locate the MATLAB code that you want to deploy as a standalone application. For this example, compile using the file magicsquare.m.

appFile = fullfile(which('magicsquare.m'));

Build a standalone application using the compiler.build.standaloneApplication command.

compiler.build.standaloneApplication(appFile);

This syntax generates the following files within a folder named magicsquarestandaloneApplication in your current working directory:

  • includedSupportPackages.txt — Text file that lists all support files included in the application.

  • magicsquare.exe or magicsquare — Executable file that has the .exe extension if compiled on a Windows® system, or no extension if compiled on Linux® or macOS systems.

  • run_magicsquare.sh — Shell script file that sets the library path and executes the application. This file is only generated on Linux and macOS systems.

  • mccExcludedFiles.log — Log file that contains a list of any toolbox functions that were not included in the application. For information on non-supported functions, see MATLAB Compiler Limitations.

  • readme.txt — Text file that contains information on deployment prerequisites and the list of files to package for deployment.

  • requiredMCRProducts.txt — Text file that contains product IDs of products required by MATLAB Runtime to run the application.

  • unresolvedSymbols.txt — Text file that contains information on unresolved symbols.

To run magicsquare from MATLAB with the input argument 4, navigate to the magicsquarestandaloneApplication folder and execute one of the following commands based on your operating system:

Operating SystemTest in MATLAB Command Window
Windows!magicsquare 4
macOSsystem(['./run_magicsquare.sh ',matlabroot,' 4']);
Linux!./magicsquare 4

The application outputs a 4-by-4 magic square.

    16     2     3    13
     5    11    10     8
     9     7     6    12
     4    14    15     1

To run your standalone application outside of MATLAB, see Run Standalone Application.

Create a standalone application and customize it using name-value arguments.

Write a MATLAB function that uses a subfunction to compute the diagonal components of a magic square. Save the functions to files named mymagicdiag.m and mydiag.m.

function out = mymagicdiag(in)
X = magic(in);
out = mydiag(X);
function out = mydiag(in)
out = [diag(in)]';

Build the standalone application using mymagicdiag.m. Use name-value pair arguments to specify the executable name, add the mydiag.m function file, and interpret command line inputs as numeric doubles.

compiler.build.standaloneApplication('mymagicdiag.m',...
    'ExecutableName','MagicDiagApp',...
    'AdditionalFiles','mydiag.m',...
    'TreatInputsAsNumeric','On')

To run MagicDiagApp from MATLAB with the input argument 4, navigate to the MagicDiagAppstandaloneApplication folder and execute one of the following commands based on your operating system:

Operating SystemTest in MATLAB Command Window
Windows!MagicDiagApp 4
macOSsystem(['./run_MagicDiagApp.sh ',matlabroot,' 4']);
Linux!./MagicDiagApp 4

The application outputs the diagonal entries of a 4-by-4 magic square.

    16     11     6    1

Create multiple standalone applications on a Windows system using a compiler.build.StandaloneApplicationOptions object.

Create a standalone application using the file magicsquare.m.

appFile = fullfile(which('magicsquare'));

Create a StandaloneApplicationOptions object using appFile. Use name-value arguments to specify a common output directory, interpret command line inputs as numeric doubles, and display progress information during the build process.

opts = compiler.build.StandaloneApplicationOptions(appFile,...
    'OutputDir','D:\Documents\MATLAB\work\MagicBatch',...
    'TreatInputsAsNumeric','On',...
    'Verbose','On')
opts =

  StandaloneApplicationOptions with properties:

            CustomHelpTextFile: ''
              EmbedArchive: on
            ExecutableIcon: 'C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2023b\toolbox\compiler\packagingResources\default_icon_48.png'
            ExecutableName: 'magicsquare'
    ExecutableSplashScreen: 'C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2023b\toolbox\compiler\packagingResources\default_splash.png'
         ExecutableVersion: '1.0.0.0'
                   AppFile: 'C:\Program Files\MATLAB\R2023b\extern\examples\compiler\magicsquare.m'
      TreatInputsAsNumeric: on
           AdditionalFiles: {}
       AutoDetectDataFiles: on
          ObfuscateArchive: off
           SupportPackages: {'autodetect'}
                   Verbose: on
                 OutputDir: 'D:\Documents\MATLAB\work\MagicBatch'

Build a standalone application by passing the StandaloneApplicationOptions object as an input to the build function.

compiler.build.standaloneApplication(opts);

To create a new standalone application using the function file example2.m with the same options, use dot notation to modify the AppFile of the existing StandaloneApplicationOptions object before running the build function again.

opts.AppFile = 'example2.m';
compiler.build.standaloneApplication(opts);

By modifying the AppFile argument and recompiling, you can create multiple applications using the same options object.

Create a standalone application and save information about the build type, generated files, included support packages, and build options to a compiler.build.Results object.

Compile using the file magicsquare.m.

results = compiler.build.standaloneApplication('magicsquare.m')
results = 

              BuildType: 'standaloneApplication'
                  Files: {2×1 cell}
IncludedSupportPackages: {}
                Options: [1×1 compiler.build.StandaloneApplicationOptions]

The Files property contains the paths to the magicsquare standalone executable and readme.txt files.

Input Arguments

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Path to the main file used to build the application, specified as a row character vector or string scalar. The file must be a MATLAB function, class, or app of one of the following types: .m, .p, .mlx, .mlapp, or a valid MEX file.

Example: 'mymagic.m'

Data Types: char | string

Standalone application build options, specified as a compiler.build.StandaloneApplicationOptions object.

Name-Value Arguments

Specify optional pairs of arguments as Name1=Value1,...,NameN=ValueN, where Name is the argument name and Value is the corresponding value. Name-value arguments must appear after other arguments, but the order of the pairs does not matter.

Before R2021a, use commas to separate each name and value, and enclose Name in quotes.

Example: OutputDir='D:\work\myproject'

Additional files and folders to include in the standalone application, specified as a character vector, a string scalar, a string array, or a cell array of character vectors. Paths can be relative to the current working directory or absolute.

Example: 'AdditionalFiles',["myvars.mat","myfunc.m"]

Data Types: char | string | cell

Flag to automatically include data files, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

  • If you set this property to 'on', then data files that you provide as inputs to certain functions (such as load and fopen) are automatically included in the standalone application. This is the default behavior.

  • If you set this property to 'off', then you must add data files to the application using the AdditionalFiles property.

Example: 'AutoDetectDataFiles','Off'

Data Types: logical

Path to a help file containing help text for the end user of the application, specified as a character vector or a string scalar. The path can be relative to the current working directory or absolute.

Example: 'CustomHelpTextFile','D:\Documents\MATLAB\work\help.txt'

Data Types: char | string

Flag to embed the deployable archive, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

  • If you set this property to 'on', then the function embeds the archive in the deployable executable.

  • If you set this property to 'off', then the function generates the deployable archive as a separate file.

Example: 'EmbedArchive','Off'

Data Types: logical

Path to the icon image, specified as a character vector or a string scalar. The image is used as the icon for the standalone executable. The path can be relative to the current working directory or absolute. Accepted image types are .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .bmp, and .gif.

The default path is:

'matlabroot\toolbox\compiler\packagingResources\default_icon_48.png'

Example: 'ExecutableIcon','D:\Documents\MATLAB\work\images\myIcon.png'

Data Types: char | string

Name of the generated application, specified as a character vector or a string scalar. The default value is the file name of AppFile. Target output names must begin with a letter or underscore character and contain only alpha-numeric characters or underscores.

Example: 'ExecutableName','MagicSquare'

Data Types: char | string

Path to the splash screen image, specified as a character vector or a string scalar. The path can be relative to the current working directory or absolute. Accepted image types are .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .bmp, and .gif. The image is resized to 400 pixels by 400 pixels.

The default path is:

'matlabroot\toolbox\compiler\packagingResources\default_splash.png'

Note

This is only used in Windows applications built using compiler.build.standaloneWindowsApplication.

Example: 'ExecutableSplashScreen','D:\Documents\MATLAB\work\images\mySplash.png'

Data Types: char | string

Executable version, specified as a character vector or a string scalar.

Note

This is only used on Windows operating systems.

Example: 'ExecutableVersion','4.0'

Data Types: char | string

Flag to obfuscate the deployable archive, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

  • If you set this property to 'on', then folder structures and file names in the deployable archive are obfuscated from the end user, and user code and data contained in MATLAB files are placed into a user package within the archive. Additionally, all .m files are converted to P-files before packaging. This option is equivalent to using mcc with -j and -s specified.

  • If you set this property to 'off', then the deployable archive is not obfuscated. This is the default behavior.

Example: 'ObfuscateArchive','on'

Data Types: logical

Path to the output directory where the build files are saved, specified as a character vector or a string scalar. The path can be relative to the current working directory or absolute.

The default name of the build folder is the executable name appended with standaloneApplication.

Example: 'OutputDir','D:\Documents\MATLAB\work\MagicSquarestandaloneApplication'

Data Types: char | string

Support packages to include, specified as one of the following options:

  • 'autodetect' (default) — The dependency analysis process detects and includes the required support packages automatically.

  • 'none' — No support packages are included. Using this option can cause runtime errors.

  • A string scalar, character vector, or cell array of character vectors — Only the specified support packages are included. To list installed support packages or those used by a specific file, see compiler.codetools.deployableSupportPackages.

Example: 'SupportPackages',{'Deep Learning Toolbox Converter for TensorFlow Models','Deep Learning Toolbox Model for Places365-GoogLeNet Network'}

Data Types: char | string | cell

Flag to interpret command line inputs as numeric values, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

  • If you set this property to 'on', then command line inputs are treated as numeric MATLAB doubles.

  • If you set this property to 'off', then command line inputs are treated as MATLAB character vectors. This is the default behavior.

Example: 'TreatInputsAsNumeric','on'

Data Types: logical

Flag to control build verbosity, specified as 'on' or 'off', or as numeric or logical 1 (true) or 0 (false). A value of 'on' is equivalent to true, and 'off' is equivalent to false. Thus, you can use the value of this property as a logical value. The value is stored as an on/off logical value of type matlab.lang.OnOffSwitchState.

  • If you set this property to 'on', then the MATLAB command window displays progress information indicating compiler output during the build process.

  • If you set this property to 'off', then the command window does not display progress information. This is the default behavior.

Example: 'Verbose','on'

Data Types: logical

Output Arguments

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Build results, returned as a compiler.build.Results object. The Results object contains:

  • The build type, which is 'standaloneApplication'

  • Paths to the compiled files

  • A list of included support packages

  • Build options, specified as a StandaloneApplicationOptions object

Tips

  • To create a standalone application from the system command prompt using this function, use the matlab function with the -batch option. For example:

    matlab -batch compiler.build.standaloneApplication('mymagic.m')

Version History

Introduced in R2020b

See Also

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