External Interfaces/API

Finding Associated Files

A collection of files associated with reading and writing MAT-files is located on your disk. The following table, MAT-Function Subdirectories, lists the path to the required subdirectories for importing and exporting data using MAT-functions.

Table 6-3: MAT-Function Subdirectories  

Platform	Contents	Directories
Windows	Include Files	<matlab>\extern\include
	Libraries	<matlab>\bin\win32
	Examples	<matlab>\extern\examples/eng_mat
UNIX	Include Files	<matlab>/extern/include
	Libraries	<matlab>/extern/lib/$arch
	Examples	<matlab>/extern/examples/eng_mat

Include Files

The include directory holds header files containing function declarations with prototypes for the routines that you can access in the API Library. These files are the same for both Windows and UNIX. Included in the subdirectory are:

• matrix.h, the header file that defines MATLAB array access and creation methods
• mat.h, the header file that defines MAT-file access and creation methods

Libraries

The subdirectory that contains shared (dynamically linkable) libraries for linking your programs is platform dependent.

Shared Libraries on Windows.   The bin subdirectory contains the shared libraries for linking your programs:

• libmat.dll, the library of MAT-file routines (C and Fortran)
• libmx.dll, the library of array access and creation routines

Shared Libraries on UNIX.   The extern/lib/$arch subdirectory, where $arch is your machine's architecture, contains the shared libraries for linking your programs. For example, on sol2, the subdirectory is extern/lib/sol2:

• libmat.so, the library of MAT-file routines (C and Fortran)
• libmx.so, the library of array access and creation routines

Example Files

The examples/eng_mat subdirectory contains C and Fortran source code for a number of example files that demonstrate how to use the MAT-file routines. The source code files are the same for both Windows and UNIX.

Table 6-4: C and Fortran Examples  

Library	Description
matcreat.c	Example C program that demonstrates how to use the library routines to create a MAT-file that can be loaded into MATLAB
matdgns.c	Example C program that demonstrates how to use the library routines to read and diagnose a MAT-file
matdemo1.f	Example Fortran program that demonstrates how to call the MATLAB MAT-file functions from a Fortran program
matdemo2.f	Example Fortran program that demonstrates how to use the library routines to read in the MAT-file created by matdemo1.f and describe its contents

For additional information about the MATLAB API files and directories, see Additional Information.

Reading and Writing MAT-Files

Examples of MAT-Files