Create Standalone Application from MATLAB

Supported platform: Windows^®, Linux^®, Mac

This example shows how to generate a standalone application from MATLAB^®. You package the prewritten function that prints a magic square to the command prompt of a computer. MATLAB Compiler™ produces an installer that installs both the standalone application and all the required dependencies on a target system. The target system does not require a licensed copy of MATLAB.

Create Function in MATLAB

In MATLAB, examine the MATLAB code that you want deployed as a standalone application. For this example, open magicsquare.m located in matlabroot\extern\examples\compiler.

function m = magicsquare(n)
%MAGICSQUARE generates a magic square matrix of the size specified
%    by the input parameter n.

% Copyright 2003-2016 The MathWorks, Inc.

if ischar(n)
    n=str2num(n);
end
m = magic(n)

At the MATLAB command prompt, enter magicsquare(5).

The output is:

    17    24     1     8    15
    23     5     7    14    16
     4     6    13    20    22
    10    12    19    21     3
    11    18    25     2     9

Create Standalone Application Using Application Compiler App

On the MATLAB Apps tab, on the far right of the Apps section, click the arrow. In Application Deployment, click Application Compiler.
Alternately, you can open the Application Compiler app by entering applicationCompiler at the MATLAB prompt.
In the MATLAB Compiler project window, specify the main file of the MATLAB application that you want to deploy.
1. In the Main File section of the toolstrip, click .
2. In the Add Files window, browse to matlabroot\extern\examples\compiler, and select magicsquare.m. Click Open.
  The function magicsquare.m is added to the list of main files.
Decide whether to include the MATLAB Runtime installer in the generated application by selecting one of the two options in the Packaging Options section:
- Runtime downloaded from web — Generates an installer that downloads the MATLAB Runtime and installs it along with the deployed MATLAB application.
- Runtime included in package — Generates an installer that includes the MATLAB Runtime installer.
  Note
  The first time you select this option, you are prompted to download the MATLAB Runtime installer or obtain a CD if you do not have internet access.
Customize the packaged application and its appearance:
- Application information — Editable information about the deployed application. You can also customize the standalone applications appearance by changing the application icon and splash screen. The generated installer uses this information to populate the installed application metadata. See Customize the Installer.
- Command line input type options — Selection of input data types for the standalone application. For more information, see Determine Data Type of Command-Line Input (For Packaging Standalone Applications Only).
- Additional installer options — Edit the default installation path for the generated installer and selecting custom logo. See Change the Installation Path .
- Files required for your application to run — Additional files required by the generated application to run. These files are included in the generated application installer. See Manage Required Files in Compiler Project.
- Files installed for your end user — Files that are installed with your application. These files include:
  - Generated readme.txt
  - Generated executable for the target platform
  See Specify Files to Install with Application.
- Additional runtime settings — Platform-specific options for controlling the generated executable. See Additional Runtime Settings.
To generate the packaged application, click Package.
In the Save Project dialog box, specify the location to save the project.
In the Package dialog box, verify that Open output folder when process completes is selected.
When the deployment process is complete, examine the generated output.
- for_redistribution — Folder containing the file that installs the application and the MATLAB Runtime.
- for_testing — Folder containing all the artifacts created by mcc, such as binaries and JAR, header, and source files for a specific target. Use these files to test the installation. For more information, see Create Standalone Application with mcc.
- for_redistribution_files_only — Folder containing the files required for redistributing the application. Distribute these files to users who have MATLAB or MATLAB Runtime installed on their machines.
- PackagingLog.txt — Log file generated by MATLAB Compiler.

Install and Run MATLAB Generated Standalone Application

To install the standalone application, in the for_redistribution folder, double-click the MyAppInstaller_web executable.
Note
The file extension varies depending on the platform on which the installer was generated.
If you want to connect to the Internet using a proxy server, click Connection Settings. Enter the proxy server settings in the provided window. Click OK.
To complete installation, fdollow the instructions on the user interface.
Note
On Linux and Mac OS X, you do not have the option of adding a desktop shortcut.

To run your standalone application:

Open a terminal window.

Navigate to the folder into which you installed the application.

If you accepted the default settings, you can find the folder in one of the following locations:

Windows	`C:\Program Files\magicsquare`
Mac OS X	`/Applications/magicsquare`
Linux	`/usr/magicsquare`

Run the application using one of the following commands:

Windows application\magicsquare 5

Mac OS X

You must set the DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable in the command window for the standalone application to work as follows:

$export DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH = MCR_ROOT/v92/runtime/maci64:MCR_ROOT/v92/sys/os/maci64:MCR_ROOT/v92/bin/maci64

Now run the application:

magicsquare.app/Contents/MacOS/magicsquare
                                                5

Linux ./magicsquare 5

A 5-by-5 magic square is displayed in the console:

    17    24     1     8    15
    23     5     7    14    16
     4     6    13    20    22
    10    12    19    21     3
    11    18    25     2     9

Documentation