Mathworks makes ‘significant improvements’ to MATLAB and Simulink

The new Simulink Editor features tabbed windows, smart signal routing and simulation rewind, while the MATLAB Desktop features a toolstrip that offers access to frequently used features, as well as an apps gallery. Release 2012b also includes a redesigned help system. Mark Walker, a senior engineer with The Mathworks, said Simulink has looked the same for 15 years. "There are a number of things built in the new release to make models easier to work with and to construct." R2012b also introduces Simulink Projects for managing project files and connecting to source control software, and support for running models on target hardware such as Arduino, Lego Mindstorms NXT, BeagleBoard and PandaBoard. Walker said upgrades had also been made because the size of models has increased over the years. "Some feature millions of blocks and we have to make sure the interaction scales with the size of the model." He also noted the number of model creators in some projects is growing rapidly. "Models can also feature hundreds of levels, but previously Simulink would only support one level per window, so you couldn't get everything on the desktop. The explorer bar allows users to work more quickly." To help users navigate within MATLAB more efficiently, MathWorks has made two major enhancements: the MATLAB Toolstrip; and the apps gallery. Jos Martin, principal software engineer, noted: "One theme running through R2012b is that it's all about trying to make the products easier to use." He said the release has been in development 'for a couple of years' and resulted from discussions with customers. "The software ships with hundreds of tools and many people didn't know they were there. We've redesigned the products so the new tool strip shows what's availble in an efficient manner." The apps gallery features apps from the MATLAB family which allow users to perform common tasks without rewriting code.