Approaches for Building Code Generated from Simulink Models

Use one of these approaches for building (compiling and linking) code that you generate from Simulink^® models:

• CMake — CMake is a third-party, open-source tool for build process management, which uses configuration (CMakeLists.txt) files to generate standard build files for native build environments, for example, makefiles, Ninja files, or Microsoft^® Visual Studio^® and Xcode projects. You can:

  • Specify a generic CMake toolchain –– see Deploy Component Algorithm as Component Model Library by Using CMake

  • Specify a shipped CMake toolchain definition –– see Configure CMake Build Process

  • Provide a custom CMake toolchain definition by using the target package –– see Create Custom CMake Toolchain Definition.

  MATLAB^® ships the CMake executable file. Simulink Coder™ and Embedded Coder^® support CMake versions from 3.12.0 onwards.

• Makefile-based toolchain — The build process generates makefiles and supports custom toolchains. You can define and register custom makefile-based toolchains by using the Target Framework or ToolchainInfo objects. See:

  • Define Custom Makefile-Based Toolchains Using Target Framework

  • Register Custom Toolchain and Build Executable

• Template makefile — The build process uses a template makefile with a toolchain that you specify. Optionally, you can control the build process through a toolchain information object. See Template Makefile Approach.

Each build approach supports:

• Simulink model configuration parameters.

• slbuild, Ctrl+B, and codebuild

• SIL and PIL Simulations

• External Mode Simulations for Parameter Tuning, Signal Monitoring, and Code Execution Profiling

For information about customizing a build approach, see Code Compilation Customization.