mlshim

A shim to run MATLAB with through Python. Uses Jinja2 to generate a .m file to run.

Windows only since that what Automotive, Aerospace, & Heavy Equipment are all using

Design & Justification:

Created for use with generating Model Based Design code with Jenkins and maintaining traceability. (ISO 2626, IEC 61508, DO-178B/C).

Uses a new MATLAB preferences directory to start MATLAB.
- Removes any customization that engineers may have in startup.m or their preferences from causing potential issues.
- Repeatable builds
- Moves MATLAB towards proper DevOps.
Create artifacts for everything that MATLAB touches.
Run MATLAB from Python:
- Treat MATLAB as one tool in a toolchain (not the entire toolchain)
- Execute Matlab in Python unit tests.

Install

pip install git+https://github.com/dapperfu/mlshim.git

Alternatives

Python-matlab-bridge

https://arokem.github.io/python-matlab-bridge/

For just interactive Python <-> MATLAB scripting this is an excellent solution but I ran into issues with my specific use cases.

Pros:
- Works great.
- Jupyter notebook magics
Cons:
- If something interrupts the bridge script MATLAB is no longer controllable. (i.e. clear all)
- Requires admin access to install libzmq. Making it harder to deploy in a corporate environment.

MATLAB Engine API for Python

Pros:
- Supported by Mathworks
Cons:
- Beholden to Mathwork's and your company's Python & MATLAB upgrade cycle. For example R2016b only supports 2.7, 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5.
- For reasons outside of engineers control (certifications, etc) projects are often on older versions of Matlab.

MATLAB flag options:

Start MATLAB program from Windows system prompt.

https://www.mathworks.com/help/matlab/ref/matlabwindows.html

`-wait`

Use in a script to process the results from MATLAB. Calling MATLAB with this option blocks the script from continuing until the results are generated.

Pros:
- No Python needed
- Supported by Mathworks
Cons:
- MATLAB can hang indefinitely.

`-batch`

Execute MATLAB script, statement, or function non-interactively. MATLAB:

Starts without the desktop

Does not display the splash screen

Executes statement

Disables changes to preferences

Disables toolbox caching

Logs text to stdout and stderr

Does not display dialog boxes

Exits automatically with exit code 0 if script executes successfully. Otherwise, MATLAB terminates with a non-zero exit code.

Pros:
- No Python Needed.
- Supported by MathWorks
- Perfect solution in an ideal world.
Cons:
- R2019a+ only. (Certified software development often lags on versions.)
- No desktop makes debugging very tedious. Way too much Simulink/MATLAB code is 'manumatic' and needs a trained monkey for edge cases. (Source: Used to be said trained monkey).

dapperfu / mlshim