Model Interfaces :: Creating a Model (Using Simulink)

Using Simulink

Model Interfaces

A referenced model's interface consists of its input and output ports and its parameter arguments. Model block instances depict the interfaces of the models they reference.

Incremental Loading

Simulink takes advantage of this fact to defer loading of referenced models until you update or simulate the model that references them. This feature, called incremental loading, allows you to begin editing a model before it is completely loaded, a useful capability when you need to make changes to large, complex models.

Note To take advantage of incremental loading, models referenced by Model blocks must have been opened and saved at least once in Release 14 (or a later version) of Simulink.

Refreshing Model Blocks

Refreshing Model blocks refers to the process of updating them to reflect graphical changes in the interfaces of the models they reference. To refresh all of a model's Model blocks, select Refresh Model Blocks from the model's Edit menu. To update a specific Model block, select Refresh from the block's context (pop-up) menu.

You should refresh a Model block instance if the model that it references has changed since the block was created or since it was last refreshed and the changes affect the block's graphical appearance, for example, the referenced model gained or lost a port. Simulink provides diagnostics that enable you to detect changes in the interfaces of referenced models that could require refreshing the Model blocks that reference them. The diagnostics include

Model block version mismatch (see Model block version mismatch)
I/O port and parameter mismatch (see Port and parameter mismatch)

Displaying Referenced Model Version Numbers

To display the version numbers of the models referenced by a model (see Managing Model Versions), select Model block version from the Block displays submenu of the parent model's Format menu. Simulink displays the version numbers in the icons of the corresponding Model block instances.

The version number displayed on a Model block's icon refers to the version of the model used to create the block or refresh the block when it was last refreshed.

Referenced Model I/O Building Simulation Targets