MATLAB: Changing stack size of system shell

fortranlinuxMATLABmemory

I'm calling several pieces of FORTRAN code from within MATLAB using the system command as such:
system(['myFORTRANcode ', num2str(input variable)]);
This works great but one of the FORTRAN programs requires a stack size larger than the default 8192kB. I'm using Linux. If I was running the FORTRAN program from a standard terminal shell, I would simply use
ulimit -s unlimited
However, the ulimit command doesn't seem to work within the MATLAB shell interface, ie I cannot simply type:
system('ulimit -s unlimited');
The command doesn't error, but it doesn't change anything either. Using
system('ulimit -s');
to echo the stack size back returns 8192 as before, instead of the (expected) unlimited.
Any ideas? I don't understand how ulimit alters the stack size, nor do I have a good handle on MATLAB's memory issues with respect to its system shell.

Best Answer

ulimit -s unlimited has to be run in the same shell session as your code. Each system() call invokes a new shell.
system(['ulimit -s unlimited; myFORTRANcode ', num2str(input variable)]);
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