Overview of the MATLAB Compiler Technology :: Compilation Process (MATLAB Compiler)

MATLAB Compiler

Overview of the MATLAB Compiler Technology

MATLAB Component Runtime

MATLAB Compiler 4 uses the MATLAB Component Runtime (MCR), which is a stand-alone set of shared libraries that enable the execution of M-files. The MCR provides complete support for all features of the MATLAB language.

Note Since the MCR technology provides full support for the MATLAB language, including Java, starting a compiled application takes roughly the same amount of time as starting MATLAB.

Component Technology File

Compiler 4 also uses a Component Technology File (CTF) archive to house the deployable package. All M-files are encrypted in the CTF archive using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) cryptosystem where symmetric keys are protected by 1024-bit RSA keys.

Each application or shared library produced by the MATLAB Compiler has an associated CTF archive. The archive contains all the MATLAB based executable content (M-files, MEX-files, etc.) associated with the component. When the CTF archive is extracted on a user's system, the files remain encrypted.

Additional Details

Multiple CTF archives, such as COM or Excel components, can coexist in the same user application, but you cannot mix and match the M-files they contain. You cannot combine encrypted and compressed M-files from multiple CTF archives into another CTF archive and distribute them.

All the M-files from a given CTF archive are locked together with a unique cryptographic key. M-files with different keys will not execute if placed in the same CTF archive. If you want to generate another application with a different mix of M-files, you must recompile these M-files into a new CTF archive.

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