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Interface Editor

Create and author interfaces in local and shared interface data dictionaries

Description

The Interface Editor allows you to define interfaces in System Composer™ that might contain attributes. In System Composer architecture models, interfaces are necessary to specify information that flows through ports between components.

Note

When you load existing interface data dictionaries, Simulink® automatically migrates them to the Architectural Data section of the Simulink data dictionary. In addition to the Interface Editor, you can also use the Architectural Data Editor and Simulink.dictionary.ArchitecturalData programmatic interfaces to manage and modify interfaces and value types. For more information on managing architectural data, see Graphically Manage Shared Interfaces, Data Types, and Constants and Programmatically Manage Shared Interfaces, Data Types, and Constants of Architecture Models.

Types of interfaces include:

  • Composite Data Interface — Represents the information that is shared through a connector and enters or exits a component through a port, A data interface can be composite, meaning that it can include data elements that describe the properties of an interface signal.

  • Value Type — Can be used as a port interface to define the atomic piece of data that flows through that port and has a top-level type, dimension, unit, complexity, minimum, maximum, and description. You can also assign the type of data elements in data interfaces to value types.

  • Physical Interface — Defines the kind of information that flows through a physical port, The same interface can be assigned to multiple ports. A physical interface bundles physical elements to describe a physical model using at least one physical domain

  • Service Interface — Defines service elements with function arguments for a client-server port. This interface is only available for software architectures.

You can save a locally defined model data dictionary as a shared data dictionary to reuse interface definitions across architecture models. Apply a profile to your data dictionary to assign stereotypes to interfaces. These interfaces typed by a stereotype now contain metadata, and you can set the property values for each interface independently.

You can toggle the view for the Interface Editor depending on the locality of the interfaces:

  • Dictionary View — Shows shared interfaces across the model that can be reused on multiple ports

  • Port Interface View — Shows owned interfaces locally defined on a single port

Interface Editor Tool

Open the Interface Editor

  • System Composer toolstrip: Navigate to Modeling > Interface Editor.

  • System Composer toolstrip: Navigate to Modeling > Architecture Views to launch the Architecture Views Gallery tool. In the View Browser, select a new or existing architecture view. On the toolstrip, click the Interface Editor button.

Parameters

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Add a new data interface by clicking Add data interface or select one of these options from the drop-down list:

  • Composite Data Interface — Represents the information that is shared through a connector and enters or exits a component through a port, A data interface can be composite, meaning that it can include data elements that describe the properties of an interface signal.

  • Value Type — Can be used as a port interface to define the atomic piece of data that flows through that port and has a top-level type, dimension, unit, complexity, minimum, maximum, and description. You can also assign the type of data elements in data interfaces to value types.

  • Physical Interface — Defines the kind of information that flows through a physical port, The same interface can be assigned to multiple ports. A physical interface bundles physical elements to describe a physical model using at least one physical domain

  • Service Interface — Defines service elements with function arguments for a client-server port. This interface is only available for software architectures.

Add a new element by clicking Add element to selected interface. If the selected interface is one of these, the new element added is one of these types:

  • Composite Data InterfaceData Element

  • Physical InterfacePhysical Element

  • Service InterfaceService ElementFunction Arguments, which are only available for software architectures

Delete the selected interface or element in the Interface Editor.

Import interfaces from these locations:

  • Base Workspace

  • MAT-file

Save interfaces on the current data dictionary or attach an existing data dictionary to your model. Select a specific option from the list:

  • Save dictionary

  • Save all dictionaries

  • Save to new dictionary

  • Link existing dictionary

Manage interfaces, data types, and data dictionary references in the Architectural Data Editor.

Choose a profile XML file to import into the currently selected data dictionary.

Show and hide columns on the Interface Editor by checking the corresponding boxes:

  • Type

  • Dimensions

  • Units

  • Complexity

  • Minimum

  • Maximum

  • Description

  • Asynchronous, available only for software architectures

Choose a view for the Interface Editor to display interfaces:

  • Dictionary View — Shows shared interfaces across the model that can be reused on multiple ports

  • Port Interface View — Shows owned interfaces locally defined on a single port

Right-click menu selections for interfaces in Interface Editor:

  • Highlight port(s) using this interface — Highlight ports in the System Composer model canvas where the selected interface is used.

  • Assign to selected port(s) — Assign the selected interface to the selected ports on the System Composer model canvas.

  • Move Interface(s) To — When you attach a data dictionary SLDD file to the model, and when that SLDD file references another data dictionary SLDD file, you can move interfaces from one data dictionary to another. The move operation preserves the port associations to these interfaces, so interfaces are still assigned to the same ports.

More About

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Version History

Introduced in R2019a