xmcImportFunction
command, for use from the MATLAB command line, to let you
specify functions defined in source and header files to import into Model Composer, and create
Model Composer blocks, or block library. The xmcImportFunction
command uses the following
syntax:xmcImportFunction('libName',{'funcNames'},'hdrFile',{'srcFiles'},
{'srchPaths'},'options')
Where:-
libName
: A string that specifies the name of the Model Composer HLS library that the new block is added to. The library can be new, and will be created, or can be an existing library. -
funcNames
: Specifies a list (cell array) of one or more function names defined in the source or header files to import as a Model Composer block. An empty set, {}, imports all functions defined in the specified header file (hdrFile
). For functions inside namespaces, full namespace prefix needs to be given. For example, to import the function'sinf'
inhls_math
, the full function name'hls::sinf'
needs to be specified. -
hdrFile
: A string that specifies a header file (.h) which contains the function declarations, or definitions. This should be the full path to the header file if it is not residing inside the current working directory. For example, to import a function fromhls_math.h
, you need to specify the full path '$XILINX_VIVADO/include/hls_math.h'.Important: The function signature must be defined in the header file, and any Model Composer (XMC) pragmas must be specified as part of the function signature in the header file. -
srcFiles
: Specifies a list of one or more source files to search for the function definitions. When used in a model, the header and source files, together with the main header file of the model,headerFile
, will be compiled into the shared library for simulation, and copied into the Target Directory specified for output generation in the Model Composer Hub block, as described in Vitis Model Composer Hub. -
srchPaths
: Specifies a list of one or more search paths for header and source files. An empty set, {}, indicates no search path, in which case the code is looked for in the MATLAB current folder. Use'$XILINX_VIVADO/include' to include the HLS header files.
xmcImportFunction
command
has the following options
, which can follow the required
arguments in any order: -
'unlock'
: Unlock an existing library if it is locked. ThexmcImportFunction
command can add blocks to an existing library, but it must be unlocked in order to do so. -
'override'
: Overwrite an existing block with the same name in the specified library.
xmcImportFunction
can be accessed from the MATLAB command line, using help
xmcImportFunction
, and provides the preceding information.As an example, the following simple.h
header
file defines the simple_add
function, with two
double-precision floating point inputs and a pointer output. The function simply adds the two
inputs and returns the sum as the output.
void simple_add(const double in1, const double in2, double *out) {
*out = in1 + in2;
}
simple_add
function as a block
in a Model Composer HLS library you can enter the following command at the MATLAB command prompt:
xmcImportFunction('SimpleLib',{'simple_add'},'simple.h',{},{})
Where:-
SimpleLib
is the name of the Model Composer HLS library to add the block to. -
simple_add
is the function name to import. -
simple.h
is the header file to look in. - No C source files or search paths are specified. In this case, the
function definition must be found in the specified header file, and only the MATLAB current folder will be searched for the specified files.
Tip: Model composer will give you a warning if you attempt to import a block with the same function name as a block that is already in the specified library.
xmcImportFunction
completes, the
SimpleLib library model will open with the simple_add
block created as shown below. During simulation, the C/C++ code for the Library blocks will get compiled and a library file will get created and loaded. The library file will be cached to speed up initializing simulations on subsequent runs. You can change the source code underlying the library block without the need to re-import the block, or re-create the library, although the cached library file will be updated if you change the C/C++ source code.
However, if you change the function signature, or the parameters to the
function, then you will need to rerun the xmcImportFunction
command to recreate the block. In this case, you will also need to use the override
option to overwrite the existing block definition in your
library.
xmcImportFunction
command any time that you change the interface to
an imported function, or the associated XMC pragmas. In this case, you should delete the block
from your design and replace it with the newly generated block from the library. However, you
can change the function content without the need to run xmcImportFunction
again.