Stop MATLAB/Simulink execution from app and regain control

I'm building an app, using App Designer, where certain parameters are configured then ".m" file is called and configuration parameters passed to its function. This happens when I press "Start" button in App Designer, then the code in Editor and also Simulink sessions start executing.

There is code in MATLAB Editor, which starts a Simulink session (Editor pre-processing -> Simulink session -> Editor post-processing -> Repeat). After Simulink is done executing, control is returned to Editor, which updates some parameters and new Simulink session starts executing. This keeps repeating until certain conditions are met, then function from ".m" file terminates. After that I assume the control is returned to UI of App Designer, and user can (re)start the simulation.

Now, what are the options to stop Simulink and ".m" file from executing (by pressing certain pushbutton in the app) and returning control to the app? Since it seems Simulink execution cannot be terminated from command line, I would say I need to wait for Simulink session to finish. Then maybe (somehow) manually put a breakpoint in MATLAB Editor, right after "sim" command is executed. And then using some function to terminate the function in the ".m" file (called from the app).

What are the options in such situation? Ideally, after pressing "Stop" pushbutton, simulation would be terminated immediately and it could also be restarted by pressing "Start" pushbutton right away.

Answer 1

[Sai Teja G]

Hi Luka,

I understand that you want to stop and restart the simulation on button clicks in AppDesigner.

To pause and restart the simulation, you can utilize the 'load_system()' and 'set_param()' functions in the callback function of your AppDesigner button. Below is a sample code snippet that demonstrates this functionality. Please review it and adapt it according to your specific requirements.

properties (Access = public)

global_variable=0; % used as a variable to check either to stop or restart the simulatiion

end

% Callbacks that handle component events

methods (Access = private)

% Button pushed function: Button

function start_simulation(app, event)

model='start';%start is a sample simulink model name

if app.global_variable==0%start the simulation for first time
    
    load_system(model);%load system
    
    Simout=sim(model);%start simulation
    
    app.global_variable=1;
    
elseif app.global_variable==1%stopping the simulatiom
    
    set_param(model, 'SimulationCommand', 'stop');%stopping the simulation 
    
    app.global_variable=2;
    
else %restarting the simulation
    
    set_param(model, 'SimulationCommand', 'start');
    
    app.global_variable=1;
    
end

end

end

You can also refer to the documentation below to gain a better understanding of the 'set_param()' function -

https://www.mathworks.com/help/simulink/slref/set_param.html

Hope this helps!