Re: running octave from a c++ program

[Przemek Klosowski]

On 10/23/2011 02:01 PM, Gamaliel Isaac wrote:
> I would like to run a matlab program on an MRI scanner. The MRI scanner
> uses software written in C++ which I can modify. One option is to
> translate the code into C++ which could be very time consuming
> especially since I would have to implement matlab functions. I would
> rather interface the c++ program with octave and run the program that
> way if that is possible. Is it and if so how would that be done?

Octave does offer a nice C++-callable API

          http://octave.sourceforge.net/coda/index.html

The question that always arises when combining native and interpreted 
code is "who's driving", i.e. which part is executing the main loop.
 Are you going to write some C++ code that the Octave interpreter will 
call? or do you expect the main loop of your application to be in C++, 
making occasional calls to the Octave libraries? From your question, it 
seems that you plan the latter, but it's easier and more flexible to do 
it the other way around---Octave does a lot of things already that you 
don't have to do by hand.

> Another issue is if it is possible I don't have system administrator
> access to the scanner and I doubt Siemens would install the software for
> me. Their scanners have to work in a clinical environment and anything
> they put on there has to be tested thoroughly to make sure it doesn't
> interfere with scanner operation. If I could put an OCTAVE dll in a
> directory though that would be OK. Is that possible?

Sure, it should be doable.

> If all this is not possible is it possible to get matlab functions that
> were translated into C?

There is a Matlab toolbox that allows that, yes.