Standard library for Matlab

Matlab users coming from other languages will benefit from the functionality contained within this user-developed, unofficial "stdlib" standard library of functions. These system, filesystem, and HDF5 / HDF4 / NetCDF functions are used by numerous independent projects.

Self-tests

The self-tests can be run from the top matlab-stdlib/ directory.

Matlab R2022b and newer:

buildtool test

Matlab R2017a and newer:

test_main

External language backends

Our functions that aren't possible in native Matlab code are implemented using Matlab's no-compile external language interfaces. The API listing "backend" column tells which functions have selectable backend implementations. By default, when the "backend" is not specified to a function having selectable backend, the algorithm searches for the first available backend and uses that.

Matlab external backends include:

• Java: all supported Matlab releases
• Perl: Matlab R2018a and newer. This uses a system() call to Perl.
• Python: Matlab R2022b and newer. stdlib.has_python checks that the Python version set by pyenv() is compatible with the Matlab release. If there is a problem with Python on a particular Matlab install, stdlib.has_python(false) disables the Python backend for that Matlab session.
• System shell calls: all supported Matlab releases. As a backup when the platform doesn't have the primary (faster) methods available, the system shell can be called for some functions.
• .NET as described below.

.NET from Matlab

.NET support in MATLAB when a compatible .NET SDK is installed includes:

• Windows: all supported Matlab releases, installed from winget search Microsoft.DotNet.SDK
• Linux or macOS: R2024b and newer

For macOS, brew install dotnet and then in Matlab edit(fullfile(userpath, 'startup.m')) and add the lines

setenv('HOMEBREW_PREFIX', '/opt/homebrew')
setenv('DOTNET_ROOT', [getenv('HOMEBREW_PREFIX') '/opt/dotnet/libexec'])

GNU Octave

Many matlab-stdlib functions work in GNU Octave.

To use matlab-stdlib HDF5 functions in GNU Octave requires the hdf5oct package.

pkg install hdf5oct

Then when wanting to use HDF5 functions, first do:

pkg load hdf5oct

To use matlab-stdlib NetCDF functions in GNU Octave requires the netcdf package.

pkg install netcdf

Then when wanting to use NetCDF functions, first do:

pkg load netcdf

Acknowledgments

Stdlib for Matlab was partly funded by NASA NNH19ZDA001N-HDEE grant 80NSSC20K0176.