HostPort-matlab

MATLAB binding of the HostPort class for communication from and to the microcontroller.

This is the (MATLAB) host-side implementation of the Host Port class. The class is internally implemented in C++ and interfaced to MATLAB using a mex file (generated from C/C++ code). The MATLAB class is thus just a wrapper around a C++ class.

Tested on Windows 10 and Linux (ArchLinux) with MATLAB 2022a.

Contents

• ./src: C/C++ source files
• ./include: C/C++ include files
• ./.vscode: setting folder for Visual Studio Code
• HostPortMex.mexw64: mex file for the Host Port class (Windows x64 version)
• HostPortMex.mexa64: mex file for the Host Port class (Linux x64 version)
• make.m: MATLAB function to build the mex file
• HostPort.m: implementation of the Host Port class in MATLAB (using the mex file)
• testing.m: MATLAB script for testing
• README.md: this file

Quick start

Usage for the Host Port class is:

port = 3; %serial port
baud = 115200; %baudrate
len = 64; %size of the buffer to read
buf = single([0 1 2 3 4 5]); %buffer to write

h = HostPort(); %instantiate a new HostPort object
h.begin(port, baud); %start the communication, return true if success
%h.begin(port, baud, header, terminator); %set also header and terminator
%h.begin(port, baud, header, terminator, timeout); %set also timeout

%possibilities are: 'single', 'double', 'uint8', 'int8', 'uint16', 'int16', 
%                   'uint32', 'int32', 'uint64', 'int64'
exit = h.read(len,'single'); %read 'len' single values, return true if success

exit = h.write(buf); %write buffer

To check the connection status:

%check initialization
if ~h %or hostport.isInit or hostport.begin(port, baud)
    error('Unable to connect')
end

%check read or write
if ~exit
    error('Unable to read or write');
end

To show all properties:

%shos all properties
disp(h);

To flush and restart the port:

h.flush();
h.restart();

Finally, to close and clear

%close & clear
h.close();
clear h; %or HostPort.clear() for clear all HostPort objects

Editable object properties are:

• Port

• Baud

• Header

• Terminator

• Timeout

Note that the port must be restarted with h.restart() after having set one of the editable properties to make the change effective.

The class has two static methods (i.e. object instantiation not required):

• HostPort.getPorts() to get the available serial ports

• HostPort.clear() to clear all the instantiated objects in the mex file.

Default header, terminator, and timeout can be obtained using

• HostPort.HEADER

• HostPort.TERMINATOR

• HostPort.TIMEOUT

Building

If you want to (re)build the mex file for the Host Port class, you need to run in MATLAB

make

Note that building works only in Windows and Linux. MacOS is not supported at the moment. A valid C++17 compiler is required.