User`s guide
1 Getting Started
What Is MATLAB Builder for Excel?
MATLAB
®
Builder for Excel
®
(also called Excel Builder) is an extension to the
MATLAB Compiler. You use Excel Builder to package MATLAB functions so
that Microsoft Excel users can access them from Excel.
Excel Builder converts M ATLAB M-functions to methods of a class that you
define. From this class, Excel Builder creates components.ExcelBuilder
components are C OM objects that are accessible from Microsoft Excel through
Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
COM is an a cronym for Component Object Model, which is a Microsoft
binary standard for object interoperability. COM components use a common
integration architecture that provides a consistent model across multiple
applicatio ns. All Microsoft Office XP applica tions support COM add-ins.
Each COM object exposes a class to the Visual Basic programming
environment. The class contains a set of functions called methods. These
methods correspond to the original MATLAB functions included in the
component’s project. The COM components created by E xcel Builder contain
one or more classes, and e ach class provid es an interface to the M-functions
that you add to the class at build time. The COM component provides a set of
methods that wrap the M-code along with a DLL file.
Note Currently, Excel Builder components support one class per component.
When you package and distribute an application that uses your component,
you must include supporting files generated by Excel Builder as well as the
MATLAB Component Runtime (MCR).
Component Naming Conventions
When creating a component, you must additionally provide a class name. The
component name represents the nam e of the Dynamic Load Library (DLL) file
to be created. The class name denotes the name of the class that performs a
call on a specific method at run time. The relationship between component
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