Import and Export Architecture Models

To build a System Composer™ model, you can import information about components, ports, and connections in a predefined format using MATLAB^® table objects. You can extend these tables and add information like applied stereotypes, property values, linked model references, variant components, interfaces, and requirement links.

Similarly, you can export information about components, hierarchy of components, ports on components, connections between components, linked model references, variants, stereotypes on elements, interfaces, and requirement links.

Define a Basic Architecture

The minimum required structure for a System Composer model consists of these sets of information:

Components table
Ports table
Connections table

To import additional elements, you need to add columns to the tables and add specific values for these elements.

Components Table

The information about components is passed as values in a MATLAB table against predefined column names, where:

Name is component name.
ID is a user-defined ID used to map child components and add ports to components.
ParentID is parent component ID.

For example, Component_1_1 and Component_1_2 are children of Component_1.

Name	ID	ParentID
`root`	`0`
`Component_1`	`1`	`0`
`Component_1_1`	`2`	`1`
`Component_1_2`	`3`	`1`
`Component_2`	`4`	`0`

Ports Table

The information about ports is passed as values in a MATLAB table against predefined column names, where:

Name is port name.
Direction is an input or output port direction.
ID is a user-defined port ID used to map ports to port connections.
CompID is the ID of the component to which the port is added. It is the component passed in the components table.

Name	Direction	ID	CompID
`Port1`	`Output`	`1`	`1`
`Port2`	`Input`	`2`	`4`
`Port1_1`	`Output`	`3`	`2`
`Port1_2`	`Input`	`4`	`3`

Connections Table

The information about connections is passed as values in a MATLAB table against predefined column names, where:

Name is connection name.
ID is connection ID used to check that the connections are properly created during the import process.
SourcePortID is the ID of the source port.
DestPortID is the ID of the destination port.

Name	ID	SourcePortID	DestPortID
`Conn1`	`1`	`1`	`2`
`Conn2`	`2`	`3`	`4`

Import a Basic Architecture

Import the basic architecture from the tables created above into System Composer from the MATLAB Command Window.

systemcomposer.importModel('importedModel',components,ports,connections)

The basic architecture model opens.

Basic architecture model.

Tip

The tables do not include information about the model's visual layout. You can arrange the components manually or use Architecture > Arrange > Arrange Automatically.

Extend the Basic Architecture Import

You can import other model elements into the basic structure tables.

Import Interfaces and Map Ports to Interfaces

To define the interfaces, add interface names in the ports table to associate ports to corresponding portInterfaces table. Create a table similar to components, ports, and connections. Information like interface name, associated element name along with data type, dimensions, units, complexity, and minimum and maximum values are passed to the importModel function in a table format shown below.

Name	Parent	DataType	Dimensions	Units	Complexity	Minimum	Maximum
`interface1`
`elem1`	`interface1`	`interface3`	`1`	`""`	`real`	`"[]"`	`"[]"`
`interface2`		`1`	`1`	`""`	`real`	`"[]"`	`"[]"`
`elem2`	`interface1`	`1`	`1`	`""`	`real`	`"[]"`	`"[]"`

Note

Anonymous interfaces cannot be the data type of elements.

To map the added interface to ports, add column InterfaceName in the ports table to specify the name of interface to be linked. For example, interface1 is mapped to Port1 as shown below.

Name	Direction	ID	CompID	InterfaceName
`Port1`	`Output`	`1`	`1`	`interface1`
`Port2`	`Input`	`2`	`4`	`interface2`
`Port1_1`	`Output`	`3`	`2`	`""`
`Port1_2`	`Input`	`4`	`3`	`interface1`

Import Variant Components

You can add variant components just like any other component in the components table, except you specify the name of the active variant. Add choices as child components to the variant components. Specify the variant choices as string values in the VariantControl column. You can enter expressions in the VariantCondition column.

Next example shows how to add a variant component VarComp with choices Choice1 and Choice2 and set Choice2 as active choice.

Name	ID	ParentID	ComponentType	ActiveChoice	VariantControl
`root`	`0`
`Component1`	`C1`	`0`
`VarComp`	`V2`	`0`	`Variant`	`Choice2`
`Choice1`	`C6`	`V2`			`petrol`
`Choice2`	`C7`	`V2`			`diesel`
`Component3`	`C3`	`0`
`Component1_1`	`C4`	`C1`
`Component1_2`	`C5`	`C1`

Pass the modified components table along with the port and connections tables to the importModel function.

Apply Stereotypes and Set Property Values on Imported Model

To apply stereotypes on components, ports, and connections, add a StereotypeNames column to the components table. To set the properties for the stereotypes, add a column with a name defined using the profile name, stereotype name, and property name. For example, name the column UAVComponent_OnboardElement_Mass for a UAVComponent profile, a OnBoardElement stereotype, and a Mass property.

You set the property values in the format value{units}. Units and values are populated from the default values defined in the loaded profile file.

Name	ID	ParentID	StereotypeNames	UAVComponent_OnboardElement_Mass	AVComponent_OnboardElement_Power
`root`	`0`
`Component_1`	`1`	`0`	`UAVComponent.OnboardElement`	`0.93{kg}`	`0.65{mW}`
`Component_1_1`	`2`	`1`
`Component_1_2`	`3`	`1`	`UAVComponent.OnboardElement`	`0.93{kg}`	`""`
`Component_2`	`4`	0

Assign Requirement Links on Imported Model

To assign requirement links to the model, add a requirementLinks table with these required columns:

Label is the name of the requirement.
SourceID is the architecture element to which the requirement is attached.
DestinationType is how requirements are saved.
DestinationID is where the requirement is located.
Type is the requirement type.

Label	SourceID	DestinationType	DestinationID	Type
`rset#1`	`components:1`	`linktype_rmi_slreq`	`C:\Temp\rset.slreqx#1`	`Implement`
`rset#2`	`components:0`	`linktype_rmi_slreq`	`C:\Temp\rset.slreqx#2`	`Implement`
`rset#3`	`ports:1`	`linktype_rmi_slreq`	`C:\Temp\rset.slreqx#3`	`Implement`
`rset#4`	`ports:3`	`linktype_rmi_slreq`	`C:\Temp\rset.slreqx#4`	`Implement`

Specify Multiple Elements on an Architecture Port

In the connections table, you can specify multiple signal interface elements as the source element or destination element. Connections can be formed from a root architecture to a component port, from a component port to a root architecture, or between two root architecture ports of the same architecture.

Interface design with nested interface.

The interface element mobile with nested element elem is the source element for the connection between an architecture port and a component port. The nested element mobile.alt is the destination element for the connection between an architecture port and a component port. The interface element mobile and the nested element mobile.alt are source elements for the connection between two architecture ports of the same architecture.

Name	ID	SourcePortID	DestPortID	SourceElement	DestinationElement
`RootToComp1`	`1`	`5`	`4`	`mobile.elem`
`RootToComp2`	`2`	`5`	`1`	`mobile.alt`
`Comp1ToRoot`	`3`	`2`	`6`		`interface`
`Comp2ToRoot`	`4`	`3`	`6`		`mobile.alt`
`RootToRoot`	`5`	`5`	`6`	`mobile,mobile.alt`

Export an Architecture

To export a model, pass the model name and as an argument to the exportModel function. The function returns a structure containing four tables components, ports, connections, portInterfaces, and requirementLinks.

>> exportedSet = systemcomposer.exportModel(modelName)

You can export the set to MATLAB tables and then convert those tables to external file formats, including Microsoft^® Excel^®, databases, or XMI.

Five tables in a structure called components, ports, connections, port interfaces, and requirement links.

Documentation