Why is the c/c++ code generated by MATLAB Coder not standalone, that is, depends on other library?

I write a MATLAB function using some functions from Image Processing Toolbox as follow

   function Y = TestImageAffine(X, T) %#codegen
   H = fspecial('gaussian', 7, 0.5);
   X = imfilter(X, H, 'cir', 'same', 'conv');
   tform = affine2d(T);
   outputView = imref2d(size(X));
   Y = imwarp(X, tform, 'OutputView', outputView);

The 4 c/c++ code files are gernerated successfully by MATLAB Coder as following

   TestImageAffine.h
   TestImageAffine.c
   TestImageAffine_types.h
   rtwtypes.h

In the c/c++ source file "TestImageAffine.c", 4 header files are included as follow

   #include "libmwimfilter.h"
   #include "libmwippfilter.h"
   #include "libmwippgeotrans.h"
   #include "tmwtypes.h"

For the MATLAB function "Y = TestImageAffine(X, T)" above, MATLAB Coder does NOT gernerate the 4 header files above.

So My question is that why does MATLAB Coder not gernerate the 4 header files above.

It is well-known that MATLAB Coder can gernerate "STANDALONE" c/c++ code. Why does the C source file above depend on the other header files?

Afterwards, I find that the 4 head files exist in the installation path "extern" of MATLAB, and the-same-name files are found as following

libmwimfilter.lib
libmwimfilter.dll
libmwippfilter.lib
libmwippfilter.dll
libmwippgeotrans.lib
libmwippgeotrans.dll

So I think that the generated c/c++ code depends on additional library.

Finally, I add all the header files, library files and dll files into a Microsoft Visual c++ 2010 project, but the build process fails as follow

" unresolved external symbol _ippgeotransCaller referenced in function _ippgeotrans"

I find out the function "ippgeotransCaller" which is declared in the header file "libmwippgeotrans.h", but I do not know the relationship between ippgeotransCaller and _ippgeotransCaller which appears above

I do not know what's wrong with my work?

[dpb]

Basically because if it generated the base code every time the amount of code produced would skyrocket and then you'd be complaining about the volume.

TMW packaged the "heavy-lifting" functions as libraries and dlls, just as any developer would make use of libraries and dlls rather than writing everything from scratch.

I don't have the Toolbox so can't comment on the actual organization of the toolset--if it doesn't cleanly compile I'd think that indicates a partial install or some other setup problem.

[keith russell]

OK, but an important question is: Can we distribute those DLLs? Anything that depends on the MCR only is distributable (because the MCR is freely downloadable by anyone), but it seems anything that pulls in any Toolbox DLLs is immediately unusable except by customers that have the actual respective Matlab Toolbox(es) licensed and installed on their target machines. Right? (I'm trying to figure this out now.)

[Steven Lord]

I believe this is discussed in the license agreement. If after reading through the license agreement (in the Resources section on the Home tab of the Toolstrip, click the triangle below the Help button and select Terms of Use) you still have questions, please contact MathWorks Customer Service using the Contact Us link in the upper-right corner.

[Ryan Livingston]

http://www.mathworks.com/help/images/understanding-code-generation-with-image-processing-toolbox.html

gives more information about this. Specifically, bullet 3 describes a means of disabling the use of the libraries, when possible. Namely, choose hardware other than MATLAB Host Computer like:

cfg = coder.config('lib');
cfg.HardwareImplementation.ProdHWDeviceType = 'Intel->x86-64 (Linux 64)'

Note that some functions require the use of precompiled libraries so changing that setting may cause code generation to fail.

Answer 1

[Ryan Livingston]

As dpb said, some functions from the Image Processing Toolbox leverage libraries to provide both functionality and performance. If you search for imwarp here:

http://www.mathworks.com/help/coder/ug/functions-supported-for-code-generation--categorical-list.html#bsl0arh-1

you will see that it says that a library is used.

To use the generated code directly in a Visual Studio project, the necessary libraries and include paths need to be added. When you generated code, you should have gotten a make file which will list out these dependencies so you can add them to your project.

Alternatively, you could build a static (LIB) or shared library (DLL) using MATLAB Coder. Then you could link against it in your Visual Studio project and include the generated header files. This lets MATLAB Coder do the work of calling the C compiler on the generated code so that the dependencies are set up properly to build it.

Answer 2

[Alex Zlotnik]

Check packNGo option to export the code after generation.