How to retrieve the Matlab Release version of simulink file using python

Hi, I want to know if there is an API or any method to know in which version of Matlab a simulink file has been developed without opening Matlab.

I have 100+ simulink files and I want to know in which version these files have been developed. All files are created after Matlab 2017.

I am using Python to parse through all models and looking for some mechanism/idea by which we get the matlab version.

Is there any metadata informatio present .slx files.

Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

[Meet]

Hi Shrirang,

There are two ways in which ways you can get to know the version of the MATLAB used to create Simulink file.

1) Using File Explorer in Windows:-

• Right Click on the ".slx" file.
• Click on Properties.
• Go to the Details tab, there you would find a property named "Version number" which denotes the MATLAB version used to create the simulink file.

2) Simulink ".slx" files adhere to the Open Packaging Conventions (OPC), which are ZIP-based:-

• The script uses Python's zipfile module to treat the ".slx" file like a ZIP archive and access its contents.
• Inside the archive, there is a file named "metadata/coreProperties.xml". The script reads this file to find the version information.
• Using XML parsing, it looks for the version tag and retrieves the version number.

import zipfile
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET

def get_matlab_version(file_path):
    with zipfile.ZipFile(file_path, 'r') as z:
        with z.open('metadata/coreProperties.xml') as f:
            tree = ET.parse(f)
            root = tree.getroot()
            for elem in root.findall('.//{http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/package/2006/metadata/core-properties}version'):
                return elem.text

file_path = "C:\\Users\\mdp\\Downloads\\modeltest.slx" 
version = get_matlab_version(file_path)
print(f"MATLAB Version: {version}")

For more information on how Simulink files are stored, refer to this documentation: https://www.mathworks.com/help/simulink/ug/save-models.html

I hope this helps!!