About_M2SCI_tools

Documentation
Last update : 05/10/2004

About_M2SCI_tools - Generally speaking about tools to convert Matlab files to Scilab...

### Description

Scilab 3.0 includes a new version of useful tools to convert Matlab M-files to Scilab.

Taking a Matlab M-file, `mfile2sci` modifies this files so that it can be compiled by Scilab. After that this compiled code is converted to a "tree" of instructions by `macr2tree`. This "tree" is an imbrication of Scilab lists and tlists and is the basis for conversion. Each instruction of this "tree" is converted to Scilab and inference is done to known what are the variables. Once this "tree" is converted to Scilab, code is generated using `tree2code`.

All tlists used for coding this tree (and we call "MSCI tlists") are listed below:

  - funcall: tlist representing a function call created by `Funcall`
  - operation: tlist representing an operation created by `Operation`
  - variable: tlist representing a variable created by `Variable`
  - cste: tlist representing a constant created by `Cste`
  - equal: tlist representing an instruction created by `Equal`
  - ifthenelse: tlist representing an IF/THEN/ELSE control instruction created inside M2SCI kernel functions
  - while: tlist representing a WHILE control instruction created inside M2SCI kernel functions
  - selectcase: tlist representing a SELECT/CASE control instruction created inside M2SCI kernel functions
  - for: tlist representing a FOR control instruction created inside M2SCI kernel functions

The contents of these tlists is described in corresponding help pages.

Operations are converted using a fonction named `%<opcode>2sci` with opcode the Scilab code for this operator. See help page for overloading to have these codes. All these functions are already written and are in directory SCI/macros/m2sci/percent/.

Function calls are converted using a function called `sci_<Matlab_function_name>`. Some of these functions have been written and are in directory SCI/macros/m2sci/sci_files/. We are working on increasing the set of Matlab functions converted. However, everybody can written such functions using help page sci_files.

Inference is done using tlists of type "infer" containing fields:

  - dims: list of dimensions
  - type: "type" tlist
  - contents: "contents" tlist if a Cell or a Struct

Type is a tlist of type "type" containing fields:

  - vtype: data type
  - property: property

To have more details about inference see help page for m2scideclare.

### See Also

`mfile2sci`, `translatepaths`, `overloading`, `sci_files`, `Funcall`, `Operation`, `Variable`, `Cste`, `Infer`, `Type`, `Equal`, `m2scideclare`,

### Authors

  V.C.