MATLAB: Error due to variable size data in Matlab function block

embedded matlab functionmatlab codersimulink

Hi all,
I have a problem that many others had before, so I read some discussions and references before asking the following:
I have a Matlab function block in Simulink, which would like to be a modulator. It gets as input a [nx1] frame of data and should return a an [lx1] frame, where either l=n or l = n/K, for some K which divides n.
However, the (very simplyfied extract of) code
      function ak = Modulator(dataFrame,dataType)
          coder.varsize('ak',length(dataFrame));
          M = 4;
          if dataType == 1 %input is a binary stream, bit mapping required
                  ak = zeros(round(length(dataFrame)/log2(M)),1);
          else % input data is a stream of integer
                  ak = zeros(length(dataFrame),1);
          end            
      end
Doesn't compile because
"Data 'ak' is inferred as a variable size matrix, while its specified type is something else."
Now, in line 2 I specified that it is a variable size matrix, and I also used an if/else constructor to initialize it.
To make the compiler happy, one may check the "Variable number of columns" checkbox for ak, in the Data and Ports Manager, but this turns out in a new error, because the blocks in cascade don't accept variable data, at least the ones I need, like digital filters.
Thanks for any help, Luca

Best Answer

Since your signal changes size at run-time, configuring the MATLAB Function block to output a variable-size signal using the Ports and Data Manager is the right thing to do. If the rest of the blocks do not accept variable-size signals, then you will need to deal with that issue, perhaps by limiting yourself to blocks that do accept variable-size signals, or implementing custom blocks to do what you need.
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