Author Software Architectures

Software architectures in System Composer™ provide capabilities to author software architecture models composed of software components, ports, and interfaces. Use System Composer to design your software architecture model, simulate your design in the architecture level, and generate code.

Use software architectures to link your Simulink^® export-function, rate-based, or JMAAB models to components in your architecture model to simulate and generate code.

Create New Software Architecture Model

The workflow for authoring software architecture models is similar to authoring system architectures. Start with a blank software architecture template to model.

You can create a software architecture programmatically by using the function.

systemcomposer.createModel("mySoftwareArchitectureDesign","SoftwareArchitecture")

where mySoftwareArchitectureDesign is the name of the new model.

You can also use the provided template in the Simulink start page.

Select Software Architecture Model.

Use a System Composer Architecture Model to describe systems as a combination of structural elements with underlying behavioral descriptions. Use a Software Architecture Model to easily define the execution order of your functions from your components, simulate your design in the architecture level, and generate code by linking your Simulink export-function, rate-based, or JMAAB models to components.

For more information about architecture models, see Compose Architectures Visually.

From a Simulink model or a System Composer architecture model, on the Simulation tab, select New , and then select Architecture . Then, select Software Architecture Model.

System Composer opens a new empty software architecture model. Observe the icon on the upper left corner that distinguishes the empty model from a system architecture.

When you model software architectures, you can:

• Use model-building and visualization tools provided by System Composer such as components, connections, and ports. For more information, see Compose Architectures Visually.

• Define interfaces. For more information, see Interface Editor.

• Define profiles and stereotypes. For more information, see Profile Editor.

• Create custom views and sequence diagrams. For more information, see Architecture Views Gallery.

• Use tools to write analysis. For more information, see Instantiate Architecture Model and Analysis Viewer.

• Create allocations. For more information, see Allocation Editor.

• Define parameters. For more information, see Parameter Editor.

• Compare differences between two models. For more information, see Comparison Tool.

Build a Simple Software Architecture Model

1. Drag an empty component to the mySoftwareArchitectureDesign model.

   

2. Link this simple Simulink Export-Function model, export_model_software_architecture to your component by right-clicking the component and selecting Link to Model. For more information about building this Simulink model, see Create an Export-Function Model.

   

3. Connect component input port and output ports to architecture input ports and output ports.

   

In this example, you start from a blank template and create a simple software architecture model. To learn how to simulate a software architecture model and generate code, see Simulate and Deploy Software Architectures.

Import and Export Software Architectures

You can import a software architecture model using the systemcomposer.importModel function.

archModel = systemcomposer.importModel(modelName,importStruct)

If the domain field of importStruct is "Software", the importModel function creates a new software architecture based on the structure of the MATLAB^® tables.

To export a System Composer software architecture model, use the systemcomposer.exportModel function.

exportedSet = systemcomposer.exportModel(modelName)

The exportModel function returns a structure containing MATLAB tables that contains components, ports, connections, portInterfaces, requirementLinks, and a domain field with value 'Software' to indicate that the exported architecture is a software architecture.

For more information on importing and exporting software architectures with functions, see Import and Export Functions of Software Architectures.

Create Software Architecture from Architecture Model Component

You can also create a software architecture model from an existing component in a System Composer architecture model.

To create a software architecture model from a component:

1. Select an existing component from your architecture model. In this example, we select Component2.

   

2. To create a software architecture model from Component2, you can use any of these three methods:

   1. Right-click the component and select Create Software Architecture Model.

   2. Select the component and, on the toolstrip, click Create Software Architecture Model.

      

   3. To create a software architecture programmatically, use the createArchitectureModel function.

3. Observe the software architecture model icon in the upper left corner. The new software architecture contains all elements from the component, including previously applied stereotypes.

   

The following elements are not supported if you create a software architecture from an existing component:

• A reference component that references a system architecture.

• A component with Stateflow^® chart behavior.

• Adapter blocks with applied interface conversions. Interface Adapter conversions are removed when you create a software architecture from an existing component.