Newsletters December 2007

December 2007

Well, the year is practically, over, and we hope you have had a successful 2007, as we have. In this, the fourth and final edition of the newsletter for this year, we provide you with information on how MATLAB is taking advantage of multiple cores, multiple CPUs and multiple computers. We also tell you about our 15th birthday, Release 2007b which shipped to customers in September, and the Legacy Code Tool to help ease the transition to Model-Based Design.

As always, you will also find information on our upcoming seminars, training courses, and Webinars hosted by The MathWorks. We value your feedback, so please contact us with any queries and/or suggestions.

OPTI-NUM solutions will be closing on 21 December 2007 and re-opening on 7 January 2008. We will be monitoring company e-mail addresses sporadically during this time.

Wishing you a prosperous 2008,
The OPTI-NUM solutions team.

Technical Articles

Multithreaded, Distributed and Parallel Computing with MATLAB

 

Remember the days when desktop computers had a single processor, running a single instruction at a time? Today you would be hard-pressed to find a modern processor with fewer than 2 cores, and the cost of computing hardware has made it possible to put an entire compute cluster on your desktop.

MATLAB has evolved to deal with these new hardware technologies. From internal multi-threading with specific processor libraries like the multithreaded BLAS that ships with R2007b, to using the MATLAB Distributed Computing Toolbox and Engine to handle distributed or parallel computational tasks on clusters of hardware, the moving target that is computing hardware and memory models is being addressed at multiple levels. Cleve Moler has written an article on this subject, which you can find here.

 

Announcements

OPTI-NUM solutions is 15 years old!

15 years ago, a few postgraduate engineering students at Wits University were really impressed with MATLAB, an interactive technical computing language that simplified their research. One of them thought it might be a good idea to represent The MathWorks, developers of MATLAB, in Southern Africa. Thus was OPTI-NUM solutions born. 15 years later, the company has grown from a side-line project into a thriving company, helping many South African companies solve challenging technical computing, modelling, simulation and algorithm design problems. For the full story, click here.

Release 2007b shipped to customers in September

On 1 September 2007, The MathWorks released R2007b worldwide. By the end of that month, OPTI-NUM solutions had shipped R2007b to customers throughout Southern Africa who were current on Software Maintenance Service.

This latest release of The MathWorks software on a single DVD includes Simulink 7, providing many new features including simulation accelerators for multi-core or multi-processor operation, two new products released since R2007a, and updates to 82 other products.

One major new feature introduced in R2007b is the ability to generate C code from Embedded MATLAB functions directly from the MATLAB command-line, using Real-Time Workshop. In addition, Embedded MATLAB Function blocks in Simulink support algorithms in multiple M-files.

For a full list of new features in R2007b, click here. To renew your Software Maintenance Service, or to speak to a sales representative about R2007b, or call 011 325 6238.

New Product: Embedded IDE Link™ MU (for Green Hills® MULTI®) 1.0

Embedded IDE Link™ MU automatically deploys code generated from Simulink® models into the Green Hills® MULTI® integrated development environment (IDE). With this new product, released on 1 November 2007, you can run processor-in-the-loop simulation tests in MULTI using your Simulink model as the test harness. You can also use MATLAB® to interactively graph and analyze results while you test and debug code within MULTI, regardless of whether the code was hand-written or generated from a Simulink model.

For more information about Embedded IDE Link MU, click here.

Datafeed Toolbox: New support for Reuters

Datafeed Toolbox 3.0, updated in R2007b, now includes support for Reuters Market Data System. Using Datafeed Toolbox, users can access to live market data, time series data, and historical market data directly in MATLAB for use in complex financial and analytical models. Datafeed Toolbox 3.0 now supports 9 data stream services, including Reuters and Bloomberg.

For more information on Datafeed Toolbox, click here.

User Resources

Legacy Code Tool helps to ease the transition to Model-Based Design

You can generate and build an entire application based solely on Simulink models. However, most software development organizations require incorporation of legacy code (i.e., existing code) into portions of their application. Examples include math utilities, specialized filters, table lookups, and low-level device drivers. Legacy code integration is a complex problem where no single solution fits all cases.

Beginning with Release 14 with Service Pack 1, The MathWorks has made available the Legacy Code Tool, a utility that eases the pain of integrating hand-written code into Simulink models for simulation and code generation. Initially released on MATLAB Central (a user-contributed code library containing free MATLAB and Simulink code and examples), the Legacy Code Tool is now integrated into Simulink in R2007b.

The original article describing the Legacy Code Tool is available here. Remember that this article describes the Legacy Code Tool for Release 14 with Service Pack 1; users current under maintenance can simply use the Legacy Code Tool inside Simulink. Consult the documentation for more information on how to use the Legacy Code Tool with R2007b.

Featured User Story

Philips Lighting and Its Partners Use MATLAB to Ensure the Performance of High-Intensity Discharge Lighting Systems

From the Eiffel Tower to the Sydney Opera House, high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps illuminate some of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. Such large areas typically require more light than can be provided by conventional incandescent or fluorescent lamps. Philips Lighting engineers use MATLAB to enable other lighting component manufacturers to verify that a key performance critical aspect of electronic HID ballasts, ripple power, is within acceptable limits.

Read the full user story.

View featured user stories.

Events

Upcoming Training Courses

 

Take advantage of our discounts on multiple training bookings and save on MATLAB and Simulink training! If you purchase more for than 5 days of training, you become eligible for a discount, which increases with the number of training days you purchase. If you are a student or lecturer then you can also receive an additional academic discount.

OPTI-NUM solutions' next three standard training courses are:

14 September 2010	Statistical Methods in MATLAB
15 September 2010	Advanced MATLAB Programming Techniques
16 September 2010	MATLAB for Building Graphical User Interfaces

View our training schedule.

Featured Course: MATLAB based Optimization Techniques

This course provides an introduction to optimization in the MATLAB environment. The course focuses on problem identification and formulation, leading to the choice of appropriate methods, including:

• Low-dimensional algorithm prototypes and their visualizations
• Linear and nonlinear least squares
• Linking multiple GUIs together
• Model fitting and systems of nonlinear equations
• Input/output behavior of toolbox functions
• Performing necessary diagnostics

If you would like to book your place on one of OPTI-NUM solutions training courses, or would like more information about on-site training courses, please contact the sales team on (011) 325 6238 or training@optinum.co.za.

Upcoming Seminars

07 September 2010	Pretoria	Defence Day - Model-Based Design for High Integrity Systems
06 October 2010	Johannesburg	Algorithm Development with MATLAB for C and C++ Programmers

 

View all upcoming events.

Upcoming Webinars

07 September 2010	Speeding Up MATLAB Applications
09 September 2010	Image Acquisition and Processing Using GigE Vision Cameras with MATLAB
14 September 2010	Analyze, Model and Simulate Energy Risk with MATLAB – a SAP Integration at RWE

 

View all upcoming events.