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PIL Execution at the Command Line Using MATLAB Coder

This example shows how to set up a processor-in-the-loop (PIL) execution to verify generated code from a MATLAB® function using MATLAB Coder™ at the command line.

You can use PIL executions to verify generated code that you deploy to the discovery boards such as

  • STMicroelectronics® STM32F4-Discovery™

  • STMicroelectronics STM32F746G-Discovery

  • STMicroelectronics STM32F69I-Discovery

  • STMicroelectronics STM32L475VG-Discovery (B-L475E-IOT01A)

by using a MATLAB Coder procedure. You can profile algorithm performance and speed of your generated code on the hardware board. To verify generated code, you must have MATLAB Coder and an Embedded Coder® license.

This PIL execution is also available with these hardware support packages.

  • Embedded Coder Support Package for BeagleBone® Black Hardware

  • Embedded Coder Support Package for ARM® Cortex®-A Processors

  • Embedded Coder Support Package for ARM Cortex-M Processors

  • Simulink® Coder Support Package for STMicroelectronics Nucleo Boards

To set up a PIL execution:

  1. In the Command Window, select the hardware for PIL execution. 

    hw = coder.hardware('STM32F4-Discovery')

    hw = 

  Hardware with properties:

            Name: 'STM32F4-Discovery'
    CPUClockRate: 168
      PILCOMPort: 'COM1'
    PILInterface: 'ST-LINK'

  2. Add the hardware to the MATLAB Coder configuration object.

    cfg = coder.config('lib','ecoder',true); 
cfg.VerificationMode = 'PIL'; 
cfg.Hardware = hw;

    The memory of the hardware board is limited, and a default value of 20000 is beyond the stack size available in the hardware. We recommend you to set the StackUsageMax value to 512. However, specify an appropriate stack usage based on your algorithm.

    cfg.StackUsageMax = 512;

  3. Generate PIL code for a function, averaging_filter.

    codegen -config cfg averaging_filter -args {zeros(1,16)}

For another example of PIL verification, see the Processor-in-the-Loop Verification of MATLAB Functions example in the documentation of the Embedded Coder Support Package for STMicroelectronics STM32 Processors.

To install the Embedded Coder Support Package for STMicroelectronics STM32 Processors, see Embedded Coder Supported Hardware.