ELEC2146
Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation
Simulation Programming and MATLAB
Dr Julien Epps
S2, 2011
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 1
Overview
Programming vs. simulation
programming
Programming principles
How MATLAB works
Getting to know MATLAB
C : A refresher
Debugging
Good programming practise
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 2
Simulation Programming
Most programming:
– Uses a variety of data structures
– Need to declare all variables (‘strongly typed’)
– Often need to worry about memory allocation of
variables
– Visual component = GUI
Often need libraries to implement this easily
– Few pre-defined functions
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 3
Simulation Programming
Simulation programming:
– Often uses just numbers, arrays and matrices
Often not very focused on data structures
– Algorithm-focused
– Visual component = plots (GUI possible)
Aim is to visualise data easily
– MATLAB
No need to worry about
– declaring variables
– memory allocation
– Nearly every function is predefined
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 4
Simulation Programming
Comparing programming languages
C
– Readability
Fair
– Writability OK
– Reliability
Everything except pointers OK
Pointers (buffer overflow) Bad
– Cost
Writing/debugging code Fair
Execution time Good
– Portability OK
– Generality OK
Adapted from Reus, B. “Principles of Programming Languages” http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/users/bernhard/ppl2007/Slides/ppl2s.pdf
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 5
Simulation Programming
Comparing programming languages
MATLAB
– Readability
OK
– Writability Good
– Reliability
Everything except memory management Good
Memory management Bad
– Cost
Writing/debugging code Good
Execution time Not great
– Portability Bad
– Generality Bad
Adapted from Reus, B. “Principles of Programming Languages” http://www.cogs.susx.ac.uk/users/bernhard/ppl2007/Slides/ppl2s.pdf
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 6
Programming Principles
How computers are organised
Central Processing Random Access
Unit Caches Memory
Instruction
Data
I/O Storage Data
Keyboard HDD Data
Mouse DVD Instruction
Ports etc USB etc Instruction . . . .
Programs are a set of instructions on
data, executed by the CPU
Data exists in storage (slow), RAM (fast)
or in a CPU cache (fastest)
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 7
Programming Principles
Top-down design
– In procedural languages, code development is
based on a step-wise refinement of the abstract
function that the code is required to perform
– Breaks a problem into sub-problems
And from there into sub-sub-problems
Deals with each sub-problem separately
– Example:
% Problem: Get to UNSW
CheckTimetable(date,timetable);
DoINeedToGo(date,timetable); CheckSocialSchedule(date);
CheckGearNeeded(date,timetable);
WhatDoINeed(date,timetable); Raining(windowCam);
HotCold(temperature);
DrivingHassle(date,trafficCond);
GetThere(homeGPS,UNSWGPS);
NextBus(date,time);
NextTrain(date,time);
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 8
Programming Principles
Top-down design
– Start solution to sub-problems by writing pseudo-
code
Comments containing code-like statements or even just text
descriptions of the function being performed
– Wherever possible, find generic, atomic pieces of the
problem and write them as functions
Should be as independent and self-contained as possible
Typically have one entry and one exit point
Usually short
Makes code easier to read; improves underlying logic
Makes code easier to test
Large projects: can split up work
MATLAB: can start new file for function or include it as part of a
script file function b = sqrt(a)
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 9
Programming Principles
Data structures: MATLAB
– Most common type of variable: double
64-bit double-precision floating-point
Can hold real, imaginary and complex numbers
– Arrays
The fundamental data type of MATLAB
1-D, e.g. array = [1 3 2 4];
2-D (matrix), e.g. A = [1 3; 2 4];
3-D and beyond, e.g. B(2,1,4) = 16;
– Characters (not used much in this course)
– Cell arrays (not used much in this course)
Generic containers – very handy
ExampleCell{1} = [1 3 2 4]; ExampleCell{2} = 56;
ExampleCell{3} = ‘Hello’;
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 10
Programming Principles
MATLAB detaches developer from
memory management
– Dynamic variable size
A = 1;
A is a scalar: double A;
A(2) = 4;
A is now a 1x2 array: double A[2];
A(3,2) = -1;
A is now a 3x2 matrix: double A[3][2];
A(3,2,2) = 6;
A is now 3x2x2: double A[3][2][2];
– Growing an array within a loop
B=0; for k=1:100, B(k)=100-k; end
– “Weakly dynamically typed”
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 11
How MATLAB works
High level language
Huge amount of abstraction from the machine-level instructions
Programming languages don’t come much higher level than this
Procedural language
Complex problems can be decomposed into a hierarchy of
functions
Interpreted language
– Each line of code is decoded as the compiler
reaches it
Slower than compiled languages. MATLAB now has a compiler
Based on fast numerical methods
LINPACK, EISPACK
Like an advanced calculator
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 12
How MATLAB works
Command window
Workspace browser Note that variables defined here
can be seen inside MATLAB
scripts
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 13
How MATLAB works
Where data is stored in memory
Used during command MATLAB workspace
execution command window
Not accessible to programmer workspace browser
Central Processing Random Access
Unit Caches Memory
Instruction
Data
I/O Storage Data
Keyboard file
HDD load file
Data
Mouse DVD
Ports etc
system
USB etc
Instruction
Instruction . . . .
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 14
How MATLAB works
Scripts
– A list of commands, stored in exampleScript.m
– Execute by running exampleScript in the
command window
– Think of scripts as identical to the command window
Functions
– Should always be used in preference to scripts,
where possible to produce generic, reusable code
– Take inputs, produce outputs
– Execute in command window by running e.g.
c = dist(a,b);
function d = dist(x,y)
d = sqrt(sum((x-y).^2));
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 15
How MATLAB works
Built-in functions
– Lots of them
– Very useful
– Functions are “overloaded”
Same function can take different inputs or produce different
outputs depending on how it is called
>> x = rand(10,10,10);
>> mean(x)
ans(:,:,1) =
0.6239 0.6602 0.5873 0.3978 0.5614 0.4500
0.5154 0.4969 0.5980 0.3891 etc . . . .
>> x = rand(10,10);
>> mean(x)
ans =
0.4441 0.5751 0.3666 0.6025 0.4448 0.6426
0.3992 0.6124 0.5794 0.4805
>> x = rand(1,10);
>> mean(x)
ans =
0.5878
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 16
How MATLAB works
Some MATLAB tips
– If your code is slow, avoid for loops
Try to use vectors and matrices – MATLAB is fast for these
Other languages: for loops are fine
– If your code is slow, work out where the problem is
Use the profiler: help profile
– If your code is slow, reduce your memory usage
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 17
Getting to know MATLAB
Plots
I = [1 2 3 4 5]; % shorthand: I = 1:5;
R = 4.7;
V = I*R;
plot(I,V);
xlabel(‘Current (A)’); % ALWAYS lable axes
ylabel(‘Voltage (V)’);
title(‘Resistor voltage-current relationship’);
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 18
Getting to know MATLAB
Plots
Resistor voltage-current relationship
24
22
20
18
16
Voltage (V)
14
12
10
4
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Current (A)
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 19
Getting to know MATLAB
Plots
I = 1:0.1:5; % now in increments of 0.1 A
R1 = 4.7;
V1 = I*R1;
R2 = 10;
V2 = I*R2;
subplot(2,1,1); plot(I,V1);
subplot(2,1,2); plot(I,V2);
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 20
Getting to know MATLAB
Plots
25
20
15
Note:
10
axes
5
have 0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
different
scaling: 50
difficult to 40
interpret 30
20
10
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 21
Getting to know MATLAB
Plots
I = 1:0.1:5; % now in increments of 0.1 A
R1 = 4.7;
V1 = I*R1;
R2 = 10;
V2 = I*R2;
subplot(2,1,1); plot(I,V1); axis([1 5 0 50]);
ylabel(‘Voltage (V1)’);
title(‘V-I relationship for two resistors’);
subplot(2,1,2); plot(I,V2); axis([1 5 0 50]);
ylabel(‘Voltage (V2)’);
xlabel(‘Current (A)’);
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 22
Getting to know MATLAB
Plots
V-I relationship for two resistors
50
40
Voltage (V1)
30
20
10
0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
50
40
Voltage (V2)
30
20
10
0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Current (A)
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 23
Getting to know MATLAB
Plots
I = 5:-0.1:1; % now in decreasing steps of 0.1 A
R1 = 4.7;
V1 = I*R1;
R2 = 10;
V2 = I*R2;
plot(I,V1,I,V2); % plots on same axes
legend(‘R1’,’R2’);
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 24
Getting to know MATLAB
Plots
50
45 R1
R2
40
35
30
Voltage (V)
25
20
15
10
0
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5
Current (A)
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 25
Getting to know MATLAB
Plots
I = 5:-0.1:1; % now in decreasing steps of 0.1 A
R1 = 4.7;
V1 = I*R1;
R2 = 10;
V2 = I*R2;
plot(I,V1);
hold;
plot(I,V2); % plots on same axes (alternative)
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 26
Getting to know MATLAB
Plots
– See also:
– text – good way to put text where you want it in
the figure
– ginput – returns x-y coordinates of wherever you
click in the axes
– plot(x,y,’r’) – plots in red
– plot(x,y,’:’) – plots dotted line
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 27
Getting to know MATLAB
Matrix/vector definition
x = [4 7 2 1]; % row vector
x = zeros(1,3);
x = ones(1,7);
x = [4; 7; 2; 1]; % column vector
x = zeros(3,1);
x = ones(7,1);
x = [1 3; 4 6; 7 9]; % 3x2 matrix
x = [ones(1,150); zeros(1,150)]; % 2x150 matrix
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 28
Getting to know MATLAB
Matrix/vector indexing
x = [4 7 2 1];
x(3) % 3rd element of x (=2)
x = [4; 7; 2; 1];
x(3) % 3rd element of x (=2)
x = [1 3; 4 6; 7 9];
x(2,1) % 2nd row, 1st column (=4)
x(2,:) % all of 2nd row (= [4 6])
x(:,1) % all of 1st column (= [1; 4; 7])
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 29
Getting to know MATLAB
Matrix/vector manipulation
x = [4 7 2 1];
x’ % matrix/vector transpose
% (= [4; 7; 2; 1])
% careful if x is complex (-> conj.)
A = [1 3; 4 6; 7 9; 2 5];
x*A % matrix multiplication
% dimensions must agree
% (= [48 77])
A’*x’ = [48; 77]
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 30
Getting to know MATLAB
Matrix/vector manipulation: “.”
x = [4 7 2 1]; y = [1 2 3 4];
x.*y % element by element multiplication
% = [4 14 6 4]
2.^y % element by element “^”
% = [2 4 8 16]
1./y % element by element “1/”
% = [1 0.5 0.33 0.25]
(x.^2+y.^2)./(x-2*y)
% element by element operations
% require careful use of “.”
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 31
Getting to know MATLAB
Loops
x = [4 7 2 1]; y = [1 2 3 4];
for k = 1:4,
z(k) = (x(k)^2+y(k)^2)/(x(k)-2*y(k));
end
% slower than (x.^2+y.^2)./(x-2*y)
% see also: while
% see also: control flow
% if / then / else, case / switch
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 32
C : A Refresher
Array (vector) operations
#include math.h
void main {
float x[4] = {4,7,2,1},
y[4] = {1,2,3,4}, z[4];
for (k=0; k<4; k++) {
z[k] = (pow(x[k],2)+pow(y[k],2))
/(x[k]-2*y[k]);
printf(“%f ”,z[k]);
} // can use cout for printf in C++
}
// MATLAB: (x.^2+y.^2)./(x-2*y)
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 33
C : A Refresher
Pointers
void main {
int* x;
int* y;
x = malloc(sizeof(int));
// Allocate an int pointee,
// and set x to point to it
// can use “new” (C++) instead
source: http://cslibrary.stanford.edu/106/
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 34
C : A Refresher
Pointers
*x = 42; // Dereference x to store
42 in its pointee
*y = 13; // CRASH -- y does not
have a pointee yet
source: http://cslibrary.stanford.edu/106/
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 35
C : A Refresher
Pointers
y = x; // Pointer assignment
sets y to point to x's pointee
*y = 13; // Dereference y to store
13 in its (shared) pointee
source: http://cslibrary.stanford.edu/106/
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 36
C : A Refresher
Functions
– Don’t forget to
Declare prototype
Give types for all arguments and outputs
– e.g.
float dist(float x, float y, int d);
float a[5], b[5]; int k = 5;
void main {
dist(a,b,k);
}
float dist(float x, float y, int d) {
// code implementing ‘dist’ function
}
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 37
Debugging
Writing code is the easy part
– Figuring out why it doesn’t work is the hard part
Some advice:
Understand the big objective of
debugging: Systematically isolating the
point of error
– Try to eliminate parts of the code that could not
have produced the error
Work out what should have happened
where the bug occurred
– Try the code using a simpler input
Adapted from White, A., “Teaching debugging – giving novices expert knowledge”, Artificial Intelligence in
Education, Boulay and Mizoguchi (Eds) , IOS Press, 1997
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 38
Debugging
MATLAB will usually locate the problem
line of code
Try executing the code in the command
window (if using a script or function)
Try leaving the “;” off the end of the
command
Prints output to command window
Check the dimensions of g and r
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 39
MATLAB Debugging Tools
echo
– Displays every command before it is executed
size(x)
– Returns the dimensions of array x
keyboard
– Stops execution, allows input from keyboard
– Afterwards, use return to return to execution
plot – code runs OK, results wrong
pause – need to step through code
Use the debug menu
– Set / clear breakpoints
– Step in and out
– Mainly good practise for similar debuggers in C etc
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 40
Debugging
Typical problem:
– “I built it and it doesn’t work”
Understand exactly what “working”
means
Break “it” up into smaller subsections
Test each subsection
– With the simplest possible test you can construct
Better still:
– Do this as you create the code
– Test as you go
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 41
Good programming practise
Why ?
– Good programming is about communication
– Well-written code is more likely to have fewer errors
– Well-written code is easier to debug
– Well-written code is more extensible and re-usable
– Well-written code is easier for someone else to
understand
Very important in industry
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 42
Good programming practise
Code formatting
– A new level of indentation should be used for every
nested statement
for k = 1:N,
if array[k] > threshold,
disp(‘above’);
else
disp(‘below’);
end
end
– MATLAB has “smart indent” – use it
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 43
Good programming practise
Variables
– Newly declared variables should have a comment
explaining their use
VC = zeros(1,100); % Array of capacitor voltages
– Use meaningful, descriptive variable names
E.g. VC or CapVolt or CapacitorVoltage for a capacitor voltage
– Don’t change the value of loop variables within a
loop
– Avoid use of global variables
Easy if you use functions
– Pre-allocate arrays to some fixed length
Not critical for MATLAB (no need to declare arrays), but faster
and good practise
– Avoid using i, j – MATLAB complex numbers
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 44
Good programming practise
Function headers
– All useful functions/subroutines/scripts/methods
have headers
– Should give:
The name of the function
Its purpose
Description of all inputs
Description of all outputs
Author, date
Version number (if you create more than one version)
% function C = lbg(data,csize)
%
% LBG algorithm for codebook design
% data : matrix with training vectors in rows
% csize : desired codebook size (must be a power of 2)
% C : codebook with csize rows
%
% Author: Julien Epps Date: A few years ago
% Reference: Linde, Y., Buzo, A., and Gray, R. M. (1980). "An algorithm for vector quantiser
% design", IEEE Trans. Commun., vol. COM-28, no. 1, pp. 84-95, January.
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 45
Good programming practise
Use pseudocode
% linfilt – plots various quantities for a digital filter
% Define filter
NumCoeff = [1 -2 1] % numerator coefficients
DenCoeff = 1; % denominator coefficients
% Plot frequency response
freqz(NumCoeff,DenCoeff);
% Plot pole-zero diagram
figure;
zplane(NumCoeff,DenCoeff);
% Plot impulse response
figure;
stem(NumCoeff); % filter is FIR
% Plot step response
figure;
Step = [zeros(1,100) ones(1,100)];
y = filter(NumCoeff,DenCoeff,Step);
plot(y);
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 46
Good programming practise
Keep your code modular
– Use functions
Bad:
for k = 1:N,
if sqrt(sum((x(k,:)-y).^2)) < min,
d(k) = sqrt(sum((x(k,:)-z).^2));
end
end
Good:
for k = 1:N,
if dist(x(k,:),y) < min,
d(k) = dist(x(k,:),z);
end
end New function dist created by the programmer
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 47
Good programming practise
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 48
Good programming practise
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 49
Good programming practise
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 50
Good programming practise
In this course:
– 10% of lab, project and assignment marks allocated
to good code formatting and programming practise
Plenty of examples exist, see
http://www.datatool.com/downloads/matlab_style_guidelines.pdf
– 5% of lab and assignment marks allocated to
correct and effective use of plotting
Correctly labelled axes
Axis ranges selected to show interesting part of plot
Good use of MATLAB plotting functions to visualise simulation
results
– e.g. Plotting two curves one same axis for easy
comparison
Only the key essential information shown (not plot after plot of
similar results)
Dr Julien Epps ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 51
Object-Oriented Programming
see e.g.
http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mdunham/tutorial/
Dr Julien Epps objectOriented.html
ELEC2146 Electrical Engineering Modelling and Simulation 52
